Four cows were killed by drivers who failed to see them late Wednesday night on a remote stretch of U.S. Highway 160 between Hesperus and Mancos.
Up to six vehicles may have been involved in the carnage, said Capt. Adrian Driscoll with the Colorado State Patrol in Durango.
Officers have spoken with four drivers, but two others may have left the scene after striking the cows, he said. No one was injured, he said.
The incident occurred about 11:30 p.m. in the Cherry Creek area, just east of the La Plata-Montezuma county line. Five cows were on the road, but only four were hit, he said. Some cows were left on the road and hit multiple times by drivers. Fortunately, there wasn’t much traffic at that time of night, Driscoll said.
“Apparently, the cows were black and they completely blended in with the road, so these people had no chance,” he said.
No citations were issued.
The State Patrol had not identified who the cows belonged to as of Thursday afternoon.
Emergency responders were cleaning up the highway until about 3:15 a.m. Thursday. The dead cows were moved to a location in Hesperus.
“It just created a mess for us,” Driscoll said.
