Trooper puts down cows after crash: 'It's heart-wrenching'

Mathews, a wildlife division trooper with state police, was assigned to kill a total of 12 injured cows trapped inside the trailer.

Langley works for Apache Transport, a Junction City company that hauls livestock and construction materials.

The truck driver had minor injuries and was not taken to a hospital, law enforcement officials said.

Following the crash, several cows escaped to a nearby field through a hole in the top of trailer, according to state police trooper Sgt. Vonn Schleicher, who said he was unsure how many cows were alive, dead or injured.

The cows that remained trapped inside the trailer could be heard mooing and kicking the metal trailer, prompting officials to decide to shoot the "severely injured" animals, Schleicher said.

A driver who crashed his state-owned tanker truck on Dec. 30, 2014, spilled a load of 11,000 juvenile salmon in the same spot.

The driver, who struck a power pole, was later determined to have a blood alcohol level of 0.29 percent, state police said at the time.