Kansas Highway 4 was shut down for approximately 1.5 hours Tuesday when a tractor-trailer rig hauling 65 head of cattle rolled on its side in southeastern Saline County.

Saline County Undersheriff Brent Melander said Wednesday morning that a 1996 Peterbilt tractor-trailer rig driven by Jimmy Grissman, 34, of Duncan, Oklahoma, was westbound in the 4200 block of Kansas Highway 4 — between Woodward and Simpson roads — when the accident occurred.

Grissman told sheriff’s deputies that the rig started to go off the edge of the road. When he attempted to correct, the weight of the cattle shifted and caused the entire rig to end up in the north ditch on its side, with the 65 head of cattle trapped inside. Six head of cattle died, Melander said. The driver was not injured.

Melander noted that the rescue and roundup was a team effort. Salina Fire Department personnel took the department’s heavy rescue vehicle to the scene and with the assistance of local farmers and ranchers, cut open the top of the trailer to free the cattle, he said.

One of the local farmers brought a portable cattle pen which was set up around the truck to corral the cattle, however, seven to eight head of cattle escaped. The delinquent bovines were found south of the accident scene Tuesday night and were corraled by local farmers, Melander said.

The tractor-trailer rig was towed from the scene and a hazmat cleanup was done because some diesel fuel was spilled in the accident, Melander added.