Steer clear!
A herd of loose cows shut down a portion of Florida’s Turnpike in the central part of the state on Monday afternoon, leading to massive traffic delays in Osceola County, south of Orlando.
Efforts to corral the roughly 70 cows let loose during a truck fire brought all lanes to a standstill for over three hours near St. Cloud, which is about 27 miles southeast of Orlando.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers reported a fire just south of the Canoe Creek Service Plaza at 11:38 a.m. ET.
North and southbound lanes were closed from there to Yeehaw Junction at State Road 60 or from roughly mile marker 244 to 192.
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The cab of a semi driven by a Samson, Alabama man caught fire, according to a statement from FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi.
He pulled the semi off the northbound highway lanes and opened the cattle trailer to save the cows from the smoke and flames, she said.
Lanes remained closed as Osceola County law enforcement and state troopers gathered up remaining cattle until lanes were reopened around 2:45 p.m. WT, according to Florida Department of Transportation traffic camera footage. FOX 35 in Orlando provided a live stream of the situation.
Law enforcement diverted southbound traffic to mile marker 244, which is U.S. 192/U.S. 441 Kissimmee-St. Cloud, until the last of the cows were caught, Crescenzi said.
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Follow Jason Delgado on Twitter @byJasonDelgado and Corey Arwood @coreyarwood.