Update: PETA Memorial Rises to Honor Cows Killed in Truck Crash

PETA’s memorial billboard for the 20 cows who were killed in an August truck crash on I-57 in Tuscola just went up near the site of the wreck. The billboard reminds drivers that—whether it’s on a highway or in a slaughterhouse—cows pay the ultimate price for humans to have a fleeting taste of flesh and urges viewers to spare animals’ lives by going vegan.

PETA’s message is located about a mile and a half west of the interstate on U.S. 45.

Tuscola Truck Crash That Killed 20 Cows Prompts PETA Highway Memorial Urging Empathy

Tuscola, Ill. — To memorialize the 20 cows who were killed when the truck carrying them overturned on I-57 about a mile south of the U.S. 36 exit on August 22, PETA plans to place a billboard in their honor near the site, reminding everyone that the crash victims were thinking, feeling individuals. Minutes after the initial wreck, another truck struck a cow who had escaped and was walking across the highway. Most of the other cows who escaped were apparently rounded up, although reports state that a few remaining individuals may still be running free in Douglas County.

“Cows died in terror and pain because of this crash, and most of the traumatized survivors no doubt continued on to face the slaughterhouse knife,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA urges everyone to please go vegan, saving cows from making the journey to the slaughterhouse in the first place.”

In 2024 alone, there have been at least 32 documented animal-transport truck crashes and fires. Each year, millions of cows are trucked to slaughterhouses, where workers shoot them in the head with a captive-bolt gun, hang them up by one leg, and cut their throat—often while they’re still conscious. Each person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year, dramatically shrinks their carbon footprint, and reduces their risk of suffering from cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.