Cattle scatter after truck tips, breaks up on U.S. 41

By Duke Behnke
Post-Crescent staff writer

GRAND CHUTE — Three volunteers on horseback helped round up cattle running loose along U.S. 41 near Lynndale Drive today after a semitrailer truck carrying the livestock overturned and broke apart.

The northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. 41 were closed at 4 a.m., and traffic was detoured onto Northland Avenue and State 47, causing lengthy backups for commuters.

The northbound lanes reopened at 8 a.m., and the southbound lanes were expected to reopen sometime after 10 a.m.

According to police, the driver of the truck, Ricky Mormann, 56, of Earlsville, Iowa, was heading north on U.S. 41 just west of Lynndale (County A) at 3:40 a.m. when the truck left the highway, entered the median and overturned onto the southbound lanes.

Patrolman Scott Dontje speculated that Mormann fell asleep while driving.

Mormann was transported to Appleton Medical Center for a head injury. His condition was not released by the hospital.

The top of the double-deck trailer broke open when it tipped over, allowing cattle to escape. Some were captured alive, while others were shot and killed after they began to charge officers. One was hit by a vehicle near Lynndale.

“We saved as many as we could,” Dontje said.

Officers struggled for hours to capture the cattle, which scattered as far east as the railroad viaduct. At 6:30 a.m. three horseback riders who have been trained in search and rescue offered to help.

Pete Vande Wettering of Appleton and Glenda and Jack Knorr of Seymour herded two groups of four cattle away from homes and vehicles. The cattle, though, could not be saved.

“It’s not as easy as it looks on TV,” Vande Wettering said.

The truck was carrying about 35 cattle.

Duke Behnke can be reached at 920-729-6622, ext. 32, or by e-mail at dbehnke@postcrescent.com.