The Pella Police Department is thankful for the help of local first responders and community volunteers who answered a difficult call following Wednesday’s fatal car crash on Highway 163.

After the collision, dozens of cattle fled a flipped semi truck trailer and scattered for up to four miles away from the impact area. Pella Police Chief Robert Bokinsky says from there, several local cattle farmers assisted emergency crews in getting the large animals corralled, as the livestock presented additional hazards for any travelers in both directions of the highway and on nearby exit ramps and rural roads.

“We were very fortunate in that another vehicle close to the accident scene was right there, and was occupied by a woman who is very familiar with the cattle industry,” he says. “She reached out to us and offered help, and she was able to summon a good number of cattlemen for us.”

“If you want to talk about heroes tonight, that’s who our heroes were. Very impressive performance, they could have very easily spent the night near a fire reading a book or watching TV, but they didn’t–when the phone rang, they sprung into action and they knew exactly what to do, they came with equipment, they came with trailers, and they knew how to handle the steer when they were found loose–they knew what to do to round them up.”

Bokinsky says their actions prevented further injuries or worse immediately following the major crash, as many of the cows were black and hard to see near the highway.

“They saved a lot of trouble, not only for the workers round them up, but they saved a lot of danger in the accidents they probably prevented.”

Some of the 75 animals involved in the crash were killed on impact inside of the trailer. The accident killed Esther M. Hockett, 65, of Bowman, North Dakota after she drove her Mercury Mountaineer eastbound in the westbound lanes of Highway 163 in Pella at approximately 7:25 p.m. Wednesday evening.