Donkey may have caused fatal I-45 crash

It didn't happen in Houston, but it's one of those "only in Texas" kinds of stories that we can't resist: Police are saying a fatal crash on I-45 near Dallas yesterday might have been caused by a donkey on the freeway.

It happened yesterday afternoon in Garrett, about five miles north of Ennis, when the driver a car carrier traveling northbound on I-45 apparently slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a donkey crossing the freeway. When that happened, Ennis City Manager Steve Howerton said, a second big-rig carrying frozen meat slammed into the rear of the car carrier and exploded. The driver of the meat truck, a North Carolina man, was killed and his wife was taken to the hospital by helicopter.

The highway was shut down in both directions for about five hours yesterday; cowboys on horseback wrangled the donkey, which had a frayed rope around its neck, at about 6:15 p.m., according to KXAS.