Salt Lake City Utah USA - A semi-trailer was clipped by a freight train in Spanish Fork on Friday, ripping open the rear-end of the vehicle and killing 28 of the sheep inside.
 
The accident happened at 15:00 as the semi-trailer turned east off of U.S. Highway 6 and crossed train tracks that run parallel to the highway, Spanish Fork police Sgt. Brandon Anderson said.
 
The driver saw the train and hit the gas pedal hoping to beat the train, but couldn't avoid the collision, Anderson said.
 
The impact opened up the rear of the semi-trailer "like a pop can" and tore off the rear axle, Anderson said.
 
Many of the sheep were thrown from the semi-trailer after impact, Anderson added.
 
Neither the driver, who had hauled the sheep to Utah from Texas, nor anyone on the Utah Railways train were injured, Anderson said.
 
The collision broke a window, some front-end lights, and a mirror on the train, which had left Provo and was headed out of state.
 
The train was thrown off its tracks in the collision.
 
There is a stop sign and sign indicating train tracks at the intersection where the collision occurred, but no signal lights or safety gates, Anderson said.
 
Author unknown.