Dozens of pigs killed after truck rolls over in Suffolk

 SUFFOLK

Almost a quarter of the pigs on board a truck headed to a processing plant in Smithfield died after the vehicle rolled over and hit a pole this morning.

The driver, 42-year-old William Orville Barnett of Fountain, N.C., was treated for minor injuries after his tractor-trailer ran off the road in the 5900 block of Godwin Blvd. about 4:45 a.m., a city spokesman said.

Police issued Barnett summonses for reckless driving and a logbook violation.

Murphy-Brown LLC, the livestock production subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, was on scene to help with livestock cleanup.

Murphy-Brown spokesman Don Butler said 47 of the 194 pigs on the truck were killed or euthanized because of injuries. They will be taken to a rendering facility and will not be used for human consumption, he said.

Butler said the animals were owned by Goldsboro Hog Farms in North Carolina and were en route to a processing facility in Smithfield.

Godwin Boulevard was closed for part of the day but has now reopened.

The crash remains under investigation.