Iowa woman dies after cow attack

DES MOINES, Iowa, June 20 (UPI) -- An Iowa woman died after a being attacked by a cow on a farm in Benton County, officials said.

Killed Saturday was Jean Fee, 60, of Urbana. Her year-old grandson was uninjured.

"It's pretty unusual for a cow to become aggressive," Terry Engelken, an associate professor at Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, told Monday's Des Moines Register. "We have a few instances of [cow attacks] across the country every year -- but it's uncommon. For it to result in a fatality is very uncommon."

Matt Fee, the woman's son, said his parents and nephews often go into a pasture to feed ears of corn to the cows. Jean Fee, her husband and grandson were on such an outing when the incident occurred.

"My dad went back to the house to get my nephew a drink," Matt Fee said. "The best we can figure is the cow became aggressive, and my mom was protecting my nephew, and the cow hit her with its head and it stopped her heart."

It took paramedics about 20 minutes to get to the farm and the woman was flown to a Cedar Rapids hospital where she died.

Fee said there were three calves in the pasture when the accident happened.

"It's common for them to become aggressive if they have a newborn calf," Engelken said. "We also just see differences in temperament in cows like we see in dogs and cats and people."