Police said texting while driving led to the death of a 2012 World Dairy Expo prize-winning Jersey cow on Saturday night.
An incoming text message diverted a 26-year-old woman’s attention while she was driving east on the 2600 block of the Beltline Highway at approximately 9:44 p.m., according to Madison Police Department Sgt. Paul Jacobsen.
Jacobsen said in a statement the woman swerved left and hit a cattle trailer, carrying eight World Dairy Expo prize-winning Jersey cows, also heading eastbound.
The driver of the pick-up truck hauling the cattle trailer was unable to maintain control and the truck, trailer and cows overturned in a ditch, according to Jacobsen.
Other World Dairy motorists who witnessed the collision safely led seven of the cows to safety, but one cow did not survive the crash, according to a police report.
Neither driver was injured, but police cited the woman for inattentive driving, according to Jacobsen.
