Cattle Roam Transmountain After Tractor-Trailer Wreck

High winds overnight caused a tractor-trailer carrying cattle to overturn on top of Transmountain Road, killing several of the animals and leaving dozens of others scattered throughout Franklin Mountains State Park.

The bulk of the nearly 50 head of cattle that escaped the tractor-trailer after the wreck were rounded up Tuesday afternoon, but some did not cooperate and are still roaming the area.

“We got a horrible wreck with cattle and we need help,” said local rancher Hank Webb, remembering the call for help in the early morning hours. “It was a mess. We had to cut one calf’s leg off to get him out. He was pinned underneath the metal.”

Webb said 10 to 12 were killed in the wreck, and about half the load of more than 100 head of cattle escaped into the hills.

“Some of them went out through holes in the side before we could even do anything,” Webb said. “Those are the ones that are scattered up on the mountain.”

Tough terrain on Transmountain made it extremely difficult to round up all of the cows and sent some cowboys all the way up the side of the mountain.

“It was pretty windy up here last night and it still is,” said Lt. Larry Guerra from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, who pointed out that about five different agencies helped out in the effort. “The concern is that they’ll get back on Transmountain and create an accident. Somebody could run over them and if you hit an animal that size with a vehicle, it’s not nice.”

Cesar Mendez, superintendent of Franklin Mountains State Park, said this is the first time he’s ever had to herd cattle.

“When we were walking the way down, some of the cows got diverted,” Mendez said. “They got loose and we ended up with probably 15 cows up in the mountains.”

The cows and calves that were captured will be taken to a ranch in Canutillo and held until they can be disposed of properly.

Transmountain Road was shut down for about six hours overnight and reopened at approximately 7 a.m.