Cow Ties Up Traffic On RI Bridge

JAMESTOWN, R.I. (CBS) – The morning rush hour took a strange turn in Rhode Island Tuesday.

Traffic was tied up for a short time around 7:30 a.m. on the Jamestown Bridge as police tried to round up a runaway cow.

Police say the cow was on its way to the slaughterhouse.

"The trailer malfunctioned the cow fell out and it was hurt slightly," officials told WPRI-TV.

Watch the Video (Courtesy of Don Mosher, Freelance Journalist/Portsmouth Patch)

The cow escaped and the trailer and took off down the westbound lanes.

Sadly, its freedom was short-lived.

Officials shot and killed the animal after tracking it down in a wooded area near the bridge.

"All in all we are lucky no one was hurt, no cars damaged," police said.

Traffic was reopened on the bridge an hour later.