Now, that stings! Escapee bees swarm a.m. commute

(CNN) -- Imagine driving down the highway amid the typical stream of cars and trucks to suddenly discover millions of bees swarming toward the morning commute.
A truck flipped on its side Sunday on a highway in Sacramento, California, and let loose its cargo of honey bees.
"There was somewhere between six [million] and 16 million of them running around out there," Officer Steve Merchant of the California Highway Patrol told CNN.
The bees stung cops and firefighters who tried to corral them. They buzzed toward nearby businesses and forced them to shut their doors. They prompted authorities to warn drivers to roll up their windows and turn off their air conditioning -- lest a vent suck in a bee or two.
"People were being stung left and right," Merchant said. "It was an ugly, ugly scene." Watch bees swarm the highway »
The bees escaped from their crates when a big rig carrying more than 400 colonies, or hives, flipped on its side on Highway 99 shortly before 10 a.m.
For the next seven hours, authorities brought in handlers who used smoke to calm the bees and coax them back into their colonies. The colonies were packed in crates that were unloaded from the trailer and reloaded on to other trucks.
Officials do not yet know what caused the truck to turn on its side, but said they think the driver may have been driving too fast.

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