A portion of Interstate 65 southbound was closed for several hours early Sunday morning after a truck carrying 36 cattle overturned near Exit 196.

The crash occurred at 2:35 a.m. between Verbena and Prattville on Sunday, when the driver of a 2007 Peterbilt truck was talking with her co-worker, drifted into the median and eventually overturned the truck carrying the cattle, according to Alabama Department of Public Safety Public Information/Education Unit Robyn Litchfield.

Litchfield said the driver tried to correct the vehicle drifting into the median.

Of the 36 cattle in the trailer, two of the cows died on impact, five cattle were euthanized, and one cow was killed after getting loose and being hit by a vehicle traveling on I-65.

One cow that got loose was also hit by a car but survived.

“25 of the cattle were saved,” Litchfield said. “In all, there were three crashes, with no injuries to the people involved.”

The northbound and southbound lanes were briefly closed until all of the cattle could be recovered.

By 10:30 a.m., all northbound lanes were opened to the 195-mile marker and by 12:30 p.m. all south and northbound lanes were opened.

Autauga County deputies and Chilton County Sheriff’s Department deputies directed traffic that was being re-routed at I-65 Exit 186 and Exit 200 while the scene was being cleaned up.

According to Litchfield, the driver of the vehicle was not issued a citation.

Litchfield said cowboys from Jemison and Clanton, including off-duty Clanton Police Officer Justin Beane and Chilton County resident Jimmy Dale Ray assisted with corralling escaped cattle at the scene.

Litchfield said Alabama State Troopers commended the cowboys for helping work the scene.

This is the second recent incident involving a truck overturning with cattle in Chilton County after an 18-wheeler hauling 107 cows overturned at the 201-mile marker in 2008.

During the 2008 incident, I-65 from Exit 205 to Exit 186 in Pine Level was shut down to corral 70 of the cows that had gotten loose.