Two trailer loads of chickens on their way to a processing plant overturned outside Centralia this morning / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff's Office
This was updated at 11:20 a.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A semi-truck carrying some 5,000 chickens rolled over this morning on Salzer Valley Road outside Centralia sending one man to the hospital and closing down the roadway temporarily.
Riverside Fire Authority called shortly after 8 a.m. to the wreck near Centralia-Alpha Road found the 22-year-old driver sustained minor injuries. He was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to fire Capt. Scott Snyder.
Some of the chickens escaped and some were not so fortunate, according to Snyder.
There were “quite a few” chickens all over the place, Snyder said.
“They’re going to be picked up by the farm and sorted out cause there were some fatalities I guess,” Snyder said.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported numerous chickens died and the “several” injured poultry were to be taken away to be euthanized.
The Freightliner truck was hauling two trailers loaded with 26 crates of poultry, according to the sheriff’s office.
The birds were on their way from a farm on Schafer Road to a Foster farms processing plant in Kelso, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown reported.
The truck driver, a Kelso resident, failed to negotiate a corner and drove onto the soft shoulder which caused the truck to roll, according to Brown. He is expected to be cited for going too fast.
The semi belongs to Signature trucking.
Courtesy photo by the Lewis County Sheriff's Office
Courtesy photo by the Lewis County Sheriff's Office
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter