john row
11-10-2000, 12:00 AM
ELK" !!!! (Or keep the faith in your fellow Man)
We left last Saturday for our first vacation since my wife and I have been married (seven years). We planned a driving trip to Las Vegas with our three year old son and had planned to take a leisurely drive, do the family type stuff in Vegas, etc. The Biggest Ball of Yarn, yadda, yadda.
We got as far as Utah and stopped in Green River for dinner. Back on I70, we're cruising at around 75mph and nailed a ten point, 39" spread, 1100 lb ELK! (I'm not a hunter but the folks who stopped to help said this was a "trophy"!)
I didn't have time to hit the brakes or swerve. This big guy was just there!!! His head came through the windshield. Luckily his rack went above the windshield and apparently acted as a fulcrum to catapult him over the roof. Sadly, he was killed instantly with a broken neck.
My son who was asleep in the rear car seat on the passenger side was hit in the head with flying glass. Luckily he was asleep and had his head and face down and only received a small cut on the top of his head that required three stitches.
Luckily my wife wasn't physically injured though of course was pretty badly shaken up.
I received some cuts on my arms and face. And was hit in the face by the elk's head.
We had five vehicles pull over to offer assistance! Because of the desolate area, we waited for over an hour for an ambulance & Utah State Patrol to arrive.
During the wait, a nice couple from Washington state had my wife & son sit in their Jeep to stay warm. They rendered first aid, flagged down a trucker, and alerted other motorists of the large elk on the highway. They stayed for the whole time with us waiting for help.
As more people stopped, they all went back to move the elk to the side of the highway.
After the Utah Highway Patrol and ambulance arrived, we were taken to the closest emergency room which was in Richfield, Utah. The nurses and doctor were great! After treating us for our injuries, they got together a "care package" of shampoo, soap, toothbrushes and other things for us.
The state trooper drove us into town and arranged a motel room, gave us a contact for a rental car, and gave my son a stuffed animal.
I didn't get the names of the good Samaritans who stopped and helped us at the accident scene. And I'm sorry I didn't get the names of the ER staff. I did learn the UHP trooper's name. It is Joe Reynolds.
Our van was totalled out and was towed to a town about twenty miles away. All of our belongings were in the van. When we went to retrieve our stuff the next day, we were still all pretty much in shock. Later I noticed that our video camera, still camera and my knife case with about 45 knives in it were missing. I figured if that was the cost of us all being safe, so be it.
Today, the UPS truck dropped off a package. It contained all of our items!!! They had been put aside for safe keeping. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>
Anyway, we are all safe, and at home. I believe all things happen for a reason. This reassured us that people are basically good and willing to go the extra effort to help those in need.
I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks to Trooper Reynolds, the people who stopped to help and the ER staff!
Wear those seat belts and believe in the God of your choice!!
John
We left last Saturday for our first vacation since my wife and I have been married (seven years). We planned a driving trip to Las Vegas with our three year old son and had planned to take a leisurely drive, do the family type stuff in Vegas, etc. The Biggest Ball of Yarn, yadda, yadda.
We got as far as Utah and stopped in Green River for dinner. Back on I70, we're cruising at around 75mph and nailed a ten point, 39" spread, 1100 lb ELK! (I'm not a hunter but the folks who stopped to help said this was a "trophy"!)
I didn't have time to hit the brakes or swerve. This big guy was just there!!! His head came through the windshield. Luckily his rack went above the windshield and apparently acted as a fulcrum to catapult him over the roof. Sadly, he was killed instantly with a broken neck.
My son who was asleep in the rear car seat on the passenger side was hit in the head with flying glass. Luckily he was asleep and had his head and face down and only received a small cut on the top of his head that required three stitches.
Luckily my wife wasn't physically injured though of course was pretty badly shaken up.
I received some cuts on my arms and face. And was hit in the face by the elk's head.
We had five vehicles pull over to offer assistance! Because of the desolate area, we waited for over an hour for an ambulance & Utah State Patrol to arrive.
During the wait, a nice couple from Washington state had my wife & son sit in their Jeep to stay warm. They rendered first aid, flagged down a trucker, and alerted other motorists of the large elk on the highway. They stayed for the whole time with us waiting for help.
As more people stopped, they all went back to move the elk to the side of the highway.
After the Utah Highway Patrol and ambulance arrived, we were taken to the closest emergency room which was in Richfield, Utah. The nurses and doctor were great! After treating us for our injuries, they got together a "care package" of shampoo, soap, toothbrushes and other things for us.
The state trooper drove us into town and arranged a motel room, gave us a contact for a rental car, and gave my son a stuffed animal.
I didn't get the names of the good Samaritans who stopped and helped us at the accident scene. And I'm sorry I didn't get the names of the ER staff. I did learn the UHP trooper's name. It is Joe Reynolds.
Our van was totalled out and was towed to a town about twenty miles away. All of our belongings were in the van. When we went to retrieve our stuff the next day, we were still all pretty much in shock. Later I noticed that our video camera, still camera and my knife case with about 45 knives in it were missing. I figured if that was the cost of us all being safe, so be it.
Today, the UPS truck dropped off a package. It contained all of our items!!! They had been put aside for safe keeping. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>
Anyway, we are all safe, and at home. I believe all things happen for a reason. This reassured us that people are basically good and willing to go the extra effort to help those in need.
I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks to Trooper Reynolds, the people who stopped to help and the ER staff!
Wear those seat belts and believe in the God of your choice!!
John