Trucker in cattle crash charged with DUI

A truck driver who touched off a three-vehicle wreck and set more than a dozen cattle loose on Interstate 80 in Joliet Tuesday afternoon was charged with driving under the influence.

Trucker Bradley Pate, 51, suffered life-threatening injuries in the crash on I-80 between Houbolt Road and Larkin Avenue, according to a statement released Wednesday morning by the Illinois State Police.

Pate, a resident of Waynesboro, Virginia, was driving a cattle hauler east on I-80 when he ran into the back of a disabled semitrailer stopped on the shoulder, police said.

Cattle were loose Interstate 80, stopping eastbound lanes of traffic from Houbolt Road to Larkin Avenue, after a hauler was involved in a crash on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, Illinois State Police said.
(Photos courtesy of Michel Uylako) — Cattle were loose Interstate 80, stopping eastbound lanes of traffic from Houbolt Road to Larkin Avenue, after a hauler was involved in a crash on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, Illinois State Police said. (Photos courtesy of Michael Uylaki) (Michael Uylaki)

Pate’s rig then slammed into a Honda coupe before ending up in the interstate median, according to police.

Pate’s trailer was “torn open and approximately 16 cattle were thrown onto the interstate,” police said.

Two of the animals were injured and troopers killed them, police said.

There were 33 cattle in Pate’s trailer when he rear-ended the other semitrailer, police said.

“With the help of local farmers on horseback the remaining cattle were gathered up and hauled away to a local storage location,” according to police.

Pate was hospitalized, police said.

The driver of the Honda, an 82-year-old from Chicago, was also taken to an area hospital, according to police.

In addition to driving under the influence of drugs, Pate was charged with improper traffic lane usage and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Pate was allowed to remain free on a $3,000 personal recognizance bond set Wednesday, court records show.