Driver hits cows east of Alfalfa, faces a bill

She ran into a herd of cows, then she reached out to NewsChannel 21 to tell us her story.

Ardis Cox said Wednesday she and her husband were on their way back from the Prineville Reservoir to her farm in Alfalfa.

That’s when she was on Reservoir Road, came over a hill and ran into a herd of cows, killing three of them.

Her Chevy Equinox was totaled. And on top of that, she learned she’d be on the hook for paying for the cows as well.

This is due to the state’s “open range” law, in which cows are allowed to roam freely in certain areas.

In Crook County, cows can roam pretty much everywhere, except for Prineville and Powell Butte.

“The rancher said, ‘I’m really sorry this happened,’ but if you talk to any of the ranchers out here, they would be like, ‘Oh we just sold a cow!” That’s their mentality of it,” Cox said. “The law’s on their side, as far as this open range, and they just feel that it is not their fault that their cattle are out there. And I don’t think that’s right.”

Cox also said she’s lucky to be alive, and she wants to share her story so others can be aware of the cattle grazing laws.

A deputy with the Crook County Sheriff’s Office said this is something that’s pretty common across the county. He said if you’re in Crook County, be careful, and slow down.