Elk Accident

*submitted by Art Messinger

Mark was driving 65 mph this morning when a herd of seven elk ran out from over a big hill and they ran right into him. These are some pictures of the accident this morning. He was driving from Show Low to Payson at 6:45 am. All seven elk were killed and two of them were lodged underneath the front of the car when Mark skidded into the side of the mountain and into a ditch. They were his cushions! Two elk came up over his hood and smashed into his window and the other three went flying over the car and into the highway. They had to shut the road down so they could get the elk out of the way. It looked like a war zone. There was one male, four females and two calves. The pictures are very sad to see. The front and side airbags were deployed and except for a few minor burns and cuts, Mark walked away from this without any injuries. A man that worked for the Forest Service said that he has never, ever, seen anyone kill seven elk with one vehicle and walk away from it. He told me that Mark holds the record. After the accident, Mark said that some of the local hunters came out with trucks and ATV’s & even a tractor with a scoop on it, and they took away all the elk. At least they are getting some good elk steaks to feed their families. What was funny was that the Fish & Game people showed up at the scene and gave Mark “elk permits” because they said that the elk were his! But, of course, he had no way to transport them back home, so they were given to the other people.

The elk incident in the AZ Republic last week described the wrong location. The paper said this accident occurred between Payson and Star Valley. It actually happened between sharp creek bridge and Colcord ADOT yard, underpasses here but no fencing…