Exercise 6.3

Chicken Truck Causes Pile-Up


     Monday at 6 p.m. the casual pedestrians on McFarland Boulevard received a “fowl” card when out of nowhere a semi-truck carrying 300 chickens made an illegal left turn, causing an accident that left 25 people injured and 11 cars piled-up.
      Among the animal casualties, at least 30 chickens are dead and as many as 40 are at large, with many others trapped inside the vehicle until fireman could arrive.
      The chickens were property of Alabama Poultry, Inc. - who has stressed that all chickens found should be returned -  and were en route to one of the company’s new farms near Gadsden. Alabama Poultry, Inc. owns about 2,000 chickens and supply eggs to IGA stores all across the south. In total, the dead and missing chickens are worth over 700 dollars – each chicken is insured for roughly 10 bucks – not to mention profit lost in the number of eggs that were smashed along the way.
    So why did the chickens cross the road? Chicken truck driver, Jeff Johnson, 45, was among the injured and was transported to DCH with bruises and a possible broken ankle; he commented that he lost control of the vehicle and was not expecting such a dramatic end to his Monday night.
     A retired local kindergarten teacher, Sarah Bernell, 63, was out for a drive with her nephew when she was caught up in the accident, and she was taken to the hospital with injuries also. Clarence DiMotta, the hospital spokesperson, reports that both Johnson and Bernell are in good condition.
     Sergeant John Jones reported it was the biggest pile-up he’d ever seen, and that by far “the worst part was the screams of the chickens." As he surveyed the accident in the heat of the afternoon, he could not help himself from proposing fried eggs for dinner.



Summary: A semi-truck carrying 300 chickens made an illegal left turn causing an accident Monday evening on McFarland Boulevard, causing a 12-car pile up and injuring 25 people, along with killing at least 30 chickens.



Writing Tips for News Stories:
*Use short paragraphs (3 sentences at very most, typically 1-2 sentences)
*Remember rules for direct quotes - they must be their own paragraph, at the beginning of the paragraph... "quote," person said.
*Write in complete sentences!
*Proper Age
*Comma Usage