Oregon State Trooper Helps Llamas Loose on the Highway
Photo: Aline Dassel via Pixabay
Some roadside scenarios are more unusual than others. Case in point: the Oregon State Police recently got a call about an incident involving a pickup truck and three misplaced llamas.
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Momentary mayhem
Trooper Levi Macy was the official that responded to the call for help, as Autoblog’s James Riswick reports. There was a stranded llama in the middle of the road on the I-84 onramp at milepost 304 eastbound.
The owner of a 1500 Dodge short bed pickup had been transporting three llamas from Washington to Utah, according to Macy’s status via the OSP Facebook page. The animals were riding in the truck bed, secured with a homemade stock rack.
When the truck took a steep uphill turn, one of the llamas got stranded on the road. The owner drove about a mile before realizing he was one llama short. That’s when he called the OSP for assistance.
Trooper Macy soon arrived on the scene, where the owner gave him a rope to handle the female llama that had escaped and was lying in the middle of the road. In characteristic llama stubbornness, she wouldn’t budge. So, the trooper tethered her to his car’s bullbar while the owner chased down the other two llamas that had also managed to escape the truck bed.
A happy ending
The incident had a happy resolution, as Macy shared. He and the owner retrieved and secured all three animals back in the truck (no prob-llama). And the female one was given some medication to help calm her for the rest of the journey.
Per Riswick, the driver received a warning for violating ORS 818.300, which involved operating a vehicle with a shifting or leaking load. But, all things considered, this story had a positive outcome thanks to Trooper Macy and the llama owner’s efforts. And Macy now boasts the honorary title of “Llama Wrangler” to add to his achievements.
For more weird roadside incidents, check out this Nutella-themed story. And read about a slimy collision in Oregon that involved hagfish.
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Whitney Russell resides in Dayton, though her spirit can be found beach-bumming in Puerto Rico (the land of her half-Puerto Rican heritage). When not crafting car-related content, she can be found chasing after the most amazing toddler in the world, watching her “beaver” of a husband build amazing woodworking projects, hanging out with two crazy dogs, and visiting family and friends. She also enjoys traveling, crafting, and binge-watching period dramas when time allows. See more articles by Whitney.