OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — A vehicle fire resulted in dozens of cows clogging a part of the Florida Turnpike Monday morning, according to highway officials.
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Troopers around 11:40 a.m. responded to mile marker 226 on the turnpike in Osceola County. The semi-cab of a cattle hauler carrying around 70 cows caught fire, highway officials said.
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The driver, a 47-year-old man from Alabama, pulled over to the shoulder and was able to exit the vehicle, then opened the cattle trailer door to let the cows escape the smoke and flames.
Fire crews arrived on scene and extinguished the fire, and the hauler was towed from the scene. The driver was not injured and remained on scene.
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Both directions of the turnpike were blocked as officials attempted to recover the cows left near the roadway and traffic was briefly diverted. The northbound and southbound lanes of the turnpike reopened about four hours later.
See our photo gallery below:
PHOTOS: Cows stop traffic on Florida Turnpike after hauler catches fire
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