PIERRE, S.D. – A Kansas truck driver challenged the Pierre railroad viaduct and lost Monday night.
Pierre Police Captain Bryan Walz says 59-year-old Rex Birney of Dighton, Kansas was hauling a cattle trailer south through Pierre on Euclid Avenue when he attempted to pass under the 11-foot three-inch clearance that has been the bane of truck drivers for many years.
Birney’s trailer was loaded with livestock at the time.
A second trailer was backed up to the rear of Birney’s trailer to offload Birney’s cargo. The trailer was removed from under the bridge with a front-end loader pushing the trailer out from under the rail passage.
The trailer buckled just behind the tractor’s rear wheels causing approximately 45-thousand dollars in damage to the trailer.
Walz says none of the cattle were lost in the incident. Birney was not cited for a truck route violation and Walz does not know how many cattle were on the trailer.
Dighton, Kansas is approximately 71 miles northwest of Dodge City, Kansas in the west-central part of the state.
