Nineteen cows were killed when a cattle truck overturned Thursday morning on Interstate 75 in Sumter County.
The semi was northbound at 8:22 a.m. near Mile Marker 327 when the driver, 59-year-old Jay Mallard Lanier of Plant City, allowed the front end of the truck to hit a guardrail and it overturned, according to an accident report from the Florida Highway Patrol.
The driver fell asleep at the wheel and was ticketed on a charge of careless driving, the report said.
Eighty-three cows were being transported in the trailer.
The crash shut down some northbound and southbound lanes of I-75. All lanes of traffic re-opened by 4 p.m.
The truck is owned by JR or Doyle Saul of Williston.
