Over 5,000 chickens were spilled across a highway in Washington after a tractor trailer tipped while making a U-turn.
The incident happened on the afternoon of Monday, June 25th in Dollar Corner, Washington.
According to Washington State Police, the semi truck was traveling along State Route 502 westbound when he tried to make an illegal U-turn, tipping the big rig, rupturing the trailer and spilling more than 5,000 chickens across the roadway.
“The driver of this combination semi truck and trailer combination loaded with chickens performed an illegal U-turn,” explained Trooper Will Finn to The Colombian News.
“It was only the driver’s second time making the route, picking up the birds from a local farm to deliver to the Foster Farms chicken processing plant in Kelso. He had completed the U-turn successfully the first time,” he continued.
“The problem, Finn said, is that the intersection is not designed for commercial vehicles to make U-turns there. There is an intersection at Northeast 92nd Avenue specifically designed for large vehicle U-turns.”
Dollar's Corner – WB SR502/NE 29th Ave – U-Turn gone wrong! Right lane BLOCKED! Expect delays! pic.twitter.com/zyKphjJpYL
— Trooper Will Finn (@wspd5pio) June 25, 2018
SR 502 westbound was blocked for several hours as crews worked to clear the wreckage and wrangle the loose chickens, reported KATU 2 News.
At around 6:15 p.m., a sheriff’s deputy was called to the wreckage to help control traffic and keep the peace as around 30 animal activists arrived on the scene.
One of the activists at the scene reportedly picked up a chicken and refused to turn it over to Foster Farms. She was then arrested on suggested charges of third-degree theft and failure to follow a peace officer’s instructions but was eventually released without being booked.
Luckily, no one was hurt and the incident was cleared at around 8:00 p.m. The unnamed truck driver was ticketed for making an improper U-turn in a commercial vehicle.
