South Carolina

‘Road hog’: Police pursuit of big pig along busy York County road goes viral

York County Sheriff's Office

York County deputies really brought home the bacon late Thursday.

It took a bunch of cops and a horse trailer to do it because the pig was so big. And then the pictures of the “road hog” and comments about whether the “little piggie” made it to market went viral.

Around 8 p.m. Thursday, a deputy spotted the pig along Old York Road near Ernest Road on one of York County’s busiest stretches of road, said Trent Faris spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office.

The deputy stopped to get the pig to the side of the road. Other deputies arrived to block part of the road so the pig would not cause a traffic problem, Faris said.

Because of the effects on traffic, Faris posted pictures of the pig and the road issue on sheriff’s office social media Twitter and Facebook.

“We would post something like this if it were a tree in the road, power lines, to give people a heads up about it,” Faris said. “But this time it was a pig. And this pig became a viral pig.”

The post racked up thousands of comments, likes and shares on social media, Faris said.

York County Sheriff's Office

There were jokes about the return of “Ham” Newton in reference to Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. Some bacon comments, certainly.

The pig was so big that deputies from the sheriff’s office mounted patrol unit brought a horse trailer to the scene. The pig was wrangled into the horse trailer and taken to the owner’s home, Faris said.

The big pig’s name is “Papa Pig,” Faris said.

No citations were issued, Faris said.

This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 9:41 AM with the headline "‘Road hog’: Police pursuit of big pig along busy York County road goes viral."

Andrew Dys
The Herald
Andrew Dys covers breaking news and public safety for The Herald, where he has been a reporter and columnist since 2000. He has won 51 South Carolina Press Association awards for his coverage of crime, race, justice, and people. He is author of the book “Slice of Dys” and his work is in the U.S. Library of Congress.
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