‘Not happy bees’: Chaos as truck crammed full of bees crashes, emergency beekeeper summoned

Please pay attention to the road if you’re driving a truck full to the brim with bees. One unfortunate driver in Clark County, Washington, has just found out the hard way exactly what kind of bee-based drama can happen if you lose control of your vehicle, to the displeasure of local firefighters nursing some painful stings.

It’s unknown what the cause of the accident was, but firefighters were alerted to an emergency involving a flipped truck and a trapped driver in the vicinity of Mt Vista on Thursday evening.

They promptly arrived on the scene only to be met with an ominous buzzing sound. It soon turned out that the truck had been transporting multiple packages of bees. Now the cases were smashed open and the bees – described as “not happy” in something of an understatement – were free.

Firefighters in Clark County said they encountered a “sticky situation” Thursday when a truck full of bees rolled over onto a road near Mt. Vista.https://t.co/G8WhWfEQhs pic.twitter.com/LTc2TWqtAC

— KOIN News (@KOINNews) October 4, 2025

What followed “a challenge” to remove the driver, both wrestling with the flipped and damaged vehicle while trying not to get stung too often. Judging by the report, the driver seemed to be used to working with bees, dismissing any medical treatment.

But freeing the driver was only half the battle. After all, you still have a flipped vehicle blocking the road, a gradually increasing queue of traffic, and thousands of furious bees with nowhere to go. The answer? Get me a beekeeper, now!

A beekeeper was duly summoned and proceeded to work their bee magic, rounding up as many of the bees as they could and ensuring they were safely transported to… uh, wherever they keep stray bees.

Further bee-related incidents

There are 250 million bees loose on Weidkamp Road between W. Badger and Loomis Trail. Please utilize alternative routes as WSCO deputies, public works and bee experts work to contain the situation. pic.twitter.com/NxupsmTzxU

— Whatcom County Gov (@Whatcomctygov) May 30, 2025

This is undoubtedly an odd case – and far from the usual traffic incident firefighters will deal with. But, nationally, bee-related traffic incidents are far from rare. You only have to go as far back as May 2025 to find a semi hauling 70,000 lbs of hives crashing in Lynden, WA – resulting in an estimated 14 million bees being released onto the highway. The road was closed for days, and teams of beekeepers were summoned to catch them with nets.

So, if you’re hauling bees, for god’s sake, drive carefully and pay attention to the road. Nobody wants to be trapped upside down in a wrecked vehicle, nursing impact injuries while being repeatedly stung!