HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A loose herd of cattle tied up freeway traffic along I-45 near Spring Stuebner, with several steers eluding capture for hours.
The livestock got loose just before noon on Monday, with a caller reporting seeing eight cows running through traffic.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office initially said three steers were caught and there could be as many as 30 on the loose. In a later update, HCSO said only six of them actually got out. They have since been captured as of 3:34 p.m., and all roping steers were accounted for.
Video from an ABC13 photographer on the freeway shows the steers running in between traffic as officers try to capture them. Officials said these were roping cows, so they are trained to avoid getting caught.
At about 12:30 p.m., a steer was running on the mainlanes, bringing freeway traffic to a stop for safety. SkyEye spotted at least one evading capture in a wooded area just west of I-45.
Then, at about 1 p.m., HCSO reported that one of the animals had been hit by a vehicle, which had overturned. No other information about the incident has been released.
If you were caught up in the traffic jam on I-45 on Monday, here’s why.
Deputies shut down I-45 mainlanes at Spring Stuebner while they tried to get the animals safely off the road. In a 1:16 p.m. update, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said two northbound lanes have been reopened for traffic.
Authorities said the cattle came from the rodeo and were being transported from the NRG complex to Polk County where they reside.
They said the latched gate of the transport vehicle came open and that’s how the cattle were able to get out.
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