New body camera footage from the Jasper County Sheriff's Office shows the chaotic aftermath of a crash that left several rhesus monkeys loose on Interstate 59 in Mississippi.
The crash occurred on October 28 at 1:33 p.m. when a pickup truck hauling a cargo trailer filled with monkey crates overturned in the median of Interstate 59. The footage shows wooden cages scattered across the grassy median as monkeys ran near the trailer while traffic continued on the busy interstate.
According to an incident report, the transport company was identified as Wildlife Facilitators, based in Maryland. The passenger of the pickup truck, wearing a white t-shirt, cooperated with law enforcement and provided information about the cargo.
"What kind of monkeys are these?" an officer can be heard asking in the footage. "They said rhesus," comes the reply.
The body camera video captures officers' initial plan to contain the monkeys to the median area near the trailer. However, at least one monkey darted into the interstate directly in front of an 18-wheeler truck.
The situation escalated when the passenger received a phone call and informed deputies that the escaped monkeys needed to be killed.
"You gotta shoot it. They can't get away. You have to shoot it," the passenger told officers.
Minutes later, after ending another phone call, the passenger confirmed that all escaped monkeys had to be eliminated.
"All of them?" an officer asked. "All of them that are out," the passenger replied.
The deputy relayed this directive to Mississippi Highway Patrol and other law enforcement on scene, saying the passenger's boss had instructed that shooting the monkeys was the only option.
After more than 20 minutes at the crash site, deputies retrieved firearms from their patrol vehicles and loaded them. About 50 minutes into the incident, gunshots can be heard on the body camera footage.
The Jasper County Sheriff's Office confirmed that 5 monkeys were shot and killed at the accident site that afternoon.
In the days following the accident, Prelabs LLC released a statement saying the monkeys were not infected with any diseases and were being lawfully transported to a licensed research facility at the time of the crash.
Three monkeys escaped the scene. Two have been found dead, while one remains at large. Anyone who sees the missing monkey is asked to contact the Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks to report the sighting.
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