On Wednesday, a semi-trailer carrying 28 cattle overturned on the I-15-to-I-11 transition ramp at the Spaghetti Bowl in downtown Las Vegas, shutting down the busy connector and causing major traffic delays. The crash killed 16 cattle, including six that were euthanized due to severe injuries, while 12 were assessed as stable.
Nevada Department of Agriculture officers and state troopers responded, spending hours uprighting the trailer, offloading livestock, and clearing debris. The truck driver was uninjured, and traffic finally began to ease after the extended closure during rush hour, as reported by Las Vegas Review‑Journal.
How animals and the truck were handled
State and agricultural crews separated the animals and moved them off the freeway for further care. As reported by 8News Now, the cattle that did not survive were removed from the scene and taken to a landfill for disposal in accordance with local regulations. The outlet added that surviving cattle were transported to a feed yard to recuperate and be monitored, and that the overturned trailer was set back on its wheels and towed to a vacant lot on Las Vegas Boulevard south of the freeway.
Traffic impact and cleanup
The ramp from I-15 south to I-11 south stayed closed for much of the morning while crews straightened the rig and cleared livestock and debris, and traffic cameras showed the connector reopening before midmorning. KTNV reported that the Nevada Department of Agriculture coordinated animal-care efforts on scene and quoted NDA Director J.J. Goicoechea saying public safety and the wellbeing of livestock were top priorities during the response.
Why the Spaghetti Bowl is vulnerable
The Spaghetti Bowl, where multiple interstate ramps braid through downtown, is a high-volume and complex interchange that leaves little room for error when large rigs are moving at speed. Local traffic reporting has flagged tight merges and heavy truck volumes as factors that can turn a single rollover into hours of cascading delays, per local coverage. Those conditions help explain why this crash snarled the morning commute well past the usual rush window.
Nevada State Police and the Nevada Department of Agriculture said the incident remains under investigation and that the semi’s driver was cooperating with troopers, according to local coverage. FOX5 Las Vegas noted that crews had the ramp reopened before 10 a.m. and that officials expect to release further details as their review continues.
