Piles of Dead Goats

(San Rafael, California) Sixty-two-year-old truck driver, Ed Gibson, was hauling more than 400 Spanish goats in a 32-foot livestock trailer when a tire blew and the truck overturned. More than 240 goats died, mostly from suffocation.

Onlookers watched in horror as officials pulled twisted carcasses from the tipped metal trailer sprawled on Kerner Boulevard near Irene Street. Dead goats were spread across the road about 10 deep beside the tipped vehicle as emergency service officials spent more than an hour digging through the piles of animals, many pinned under loose metal shelves.

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The horrific scene took its toll on Marin Humane Society officials.

Humane Society Sgt. Michelle Rogers, among the crew digging through wreckage, said 243 dead goats were pulled out of the tipped truck.

"I need a moment," she said, stepping away to compose herself.

The goats are used for brush-clearing and owned by the Goats R Us Company. Valued at $150 each, the dead goats represent a loss of more than $35,000. The dead carcasses were piled into a dumpster and hauled to Petaluma.

Tip: Vicki