Southbound lanes along Interstate 17 were shut down for several hours Friday after a truck towing a trailer carrying eight horses overturned north of Cordes Junction, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said.

The crash happened shortly after 9 a.m. on the southbound lanes. The pickup truck towing the horses overturned, spilling the animals onto the freeway, DPS said.

One of the eight horses had to be euthanized, DPS said.

The other seven were loaded into separate trailers and hauled away, officials said. 

Two people in the truck were taken to a nearby hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, DPS said.

All lanes of the interstate reopened about 2:30 p.m., DPS said.

The Arizona Department of Transportation reported lengthy backups on I-17 during the closure, which continued even after the lanes reopened.

 

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