Sibley, Iowa — A truck driver was taken to the hospital following an accident north of Sibley early Tuesday morning.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office says the accident happened about 5:30 Tuesday morning, when a 2005 Peterbilt tractor-trailer rig, driven by 26-year old Blake Joseph Reis of Hartley, was westbound on Highway 9, north of Sibley. According to authorities, Reis observed a cow standing in the roadway. Reis told deputies he swerved to avoid the animal, causing his semi to tip onto its side, and come to rest on the driver’s side, partially in the north ditch and partially on the roadway.
Deputies say the purebred, registered cow, owned by Ernest Gradert of Sibley, was killed for an estimated loss of $20-thousand. Reis was hauling a livestock trailer filled with pigs that were also killed, for an estimated loss of $30-thousand. Deputies estimated the tractor and trailer to be a total loss, with an estimated value of $145-thousand.
Reis was taken the the Osceola Community Hospital in Sibley by the Sibley Ambulance.
Also assisting at the scene was the Sibley Fire Department and Marks Towing of Worthington, MN.
