11 Horses die in trailer accident

A tractor-trailer rig carrying 30 horses overturned Tuesday morning on the Turner Turnpike. Eleven horses died in the wreck or were euthanized, troopers said.

But with the help of volunteers who stopped to help, 19 horses survived after being herded into a makeshift pen at North Sooner Road and Northeast 122nd Street.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, who was not injured, fell asleep at the wheel driving west on the turnpike and crashed near the Interstate 35 exit about 6 a.m., Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. James Watson said.

Trooper Jerrad Real was the first trooper to arrive and found injured horses on the road and dead and injured horses inside the overturned trailer.