Deputy Remains Critical After Cow Attack

SMITH COUNTY � Smith County Sheriff�s Deputy Robert Britton is still fighting for his life tonight after he was hit by a cow while directing traffic. Law enforcement across the county are waiting and praying for his recovery, including Bullard Police chief Gary Lewis. Lewis calls it a �freak accident.� �He was doing what he was doing to protect others. It could happen a hundred times again and not have hurt anybody,� he says. Lewis was driving on Farm Road 344 near Bullard at 1:30 Thursday morning when he saw what looked like the scene of an accident. He turned around to see if a car was in the ditch, and saw a cow in the middle of the road. He says the cow appeared to have been hit by a car, and there were skid marks.

Since the cow was lying in the road in a valley, Lewis says it would have been hard for drivers to see it and stop in time. That�s when he called Smith County Sheriff�s Deputies to help direct traffic. Deputy Robert Britton was one of them. Lewis says as they were directing traffic, the cow, which hadn�t been moving, got up without warning and started heading toward him and Britton. He says the cow hit Britton in the chest and knocked him over. �His feet went up and hit the back of his head. I was standing within a few feet of him and kind of picked his head up. I put my hand under his head and was trying to talk to him, but he was uconscience, his body stiffened up,� says Lewis.

Deputy Britton suffered head and neck injuries. The Department of Public Safety tells us the cow�s owner could be at fault for having a cow outside of a fence. Officials say the driver could face charges for leaving the accident, since the cow is considered property. So far, the cow�s owner and driver are both unknown.