Two people were hospitalized Monday after a vehicle carrying eight colonies of honey bees lost part of its load on Interstate 205, triggering a crash on the Glenn Jackson Bridge.

The incident happened just before 12 a.m. Monday. A driver behind the truck quickly braked to get around the mess but another driver following too closely behind that car crashed, authorities said. Both vehicles appeared to be totaled.

The driver and a child passenger of one of the vehicles were both taken to the hospital. The extent of their injuries was not known.

“Yeah, this probably isn't something you're going to see very often. Looks like a lot of the bees were injured,” said Portland police officer John Young.

The bees spilled onto the highway; a professional beekeeper was called to help collect them.

Police cited one of the drivers for following too closely behind another vehicle.

Traffic lanes reopened after 2 a.m.