Escaped bull causes 3-car crash on Massachusetts interstate before charging at officers

By Russ Reed

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    RAYNHAM, Massachusetts (WMTW) — A bull that escaped from a Massachusetts farm Monday morning caused a multi-vehicle crash on a highway before later charging at police officers who approached the 1,300-pound animal in an effort to corral it.

The Raynham Police Department said it received multiple 911 calls at about 9 a.m. reporting a large, black bull running down Jennings Drive near Elm Street East.

The owners of Mathieu Farms called 911 to report a bull had gotten loose and that the animal was highly aggressive. The farm owners told police that workers were trying to load the bull onto a truck to be transported to a slaughterhouse when the animal became enraged and escaped. According to the farm owners, the bull had to run through multiple fences — including electrified fences — and jumped over a 6-foot-tall berm in order to escape.

Police said the bull ended up running onto Interstate 495 and caused a three-car crash near Exit 22 on the northbound side of the highway. The Raynham Fire Department reported that one of the drivers involved in the crash was transported to an area hospital to be treated for their injuries.

After the I-495 crash, the bull then fled into the woods off Elm Street East and ran into Lake Nippenicket near a Raynham Water District building.

Alex McCarthy said he spotted the bull running in Rozena’s Field, which often holds equestrian shows.

“I was like: ‘Holy smokes! It’s a big horse.’ And then, sure enough, it wasn’t even a horse. It was a bull,” McCarthy said. “It seemed like it was having a lot of fun being out and about, like finally getting out of the pasture. When it ran by us, it was kind of just sitting there, like frolicking in the woods.”

The bull was able to swim in the lake for a short time before officers and farm staff were able to find it.

According to police, the bull quickly and aggressively swam toward the group of people on shore once it spotted them, which prompted one officer to fire his department-issued rifle. Police said those shots did not deter the bull, which then got out of the water and began to charge at the people on shore.

“We were frightened,” said Raynham police Lt. Peter Beatrice. “It was a lot bigger than me and a lot taller.”

In order to avoid being injured by the charging bull, the officer fired several more rifle shots and struck the bull in the leg.

“If he didn’t do that, I think that bull might still be running around,” Beatrice said.

Police said the bull needed to be humanely euthanized after it was shot, but the officer’s rifle was not powerful enough. One of the farm’s owners, who police said is a licensed gun owner and hunter, retrieved his hunting rifle and euthanized the bull.

“At least it got one joyride, I guess,” McCarthy said. “It is tough to see it end that way, but I mean, at the end of the day, too, it makes sense on why they did it.”

Police said the owners and workers at Mathieu Farms had relayed to them early on that the bull would likely need to be euthanized rather than captured due to its aggression.

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