Hogs snarl traffic in East St. Louis

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. -- Two men hauling about 700 pigs didn't make it to market Friday afternoon. Almost 100 of the pigs got loose when the tractor-trailer hauling the hogs for Iowa-based Miller Livestock flipped over on its side.

Driver Scott A. Ohm and passenger John R. Schulz slid along with their livestock into a guardrail on Interstate 64, near the Interstate 55-70 interchange.

Ohm, 24, of Atlantic Island, Iowa, was taken to St. Mary's Hospital in East St. Louis and then to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, where he was listed in serious condition late Friday. Schulz, 25, of Elkhorn, Iowa, also was taken to St. Mary's, where he was treated and released.

Several pigs died in the accident, and others were killed when they were thrown from the ripped-open trailer. Bystanders were able to corral almost all of the pigs that wandered out of the trailer, but the roundup and wreckage severely snarled afternoon rush-hour traffic.

Illinois State Police Trooper Gregg Cox said another trooper had to shoot two of the pigs because their injuries were so severe. Cox said he didn't know how many pigs survived the skid.