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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Engineer killed after his car hits elephant in forest |
| 2011-02-17 |
| [The Nation (Nairobi)] A 47-year-old telecommunications engineer died on Tuesday night in a freak accident when his car rammed an elephant at Nkunga forest on the Meru-Nanyuki road. "Look out, Dalton! It's an elephant!" "Aaaaiiiieeee!" Mr Dalton Mwachenga, who was travelling from Uganda, hit the elephant that then fell on his car. "It's a falling elephant!" [SMASH!] Africa Wins Again Imenti North police boss Joshua Lutukai said the incident occurred around 1 am. Highway officers, who were manning a roadblock near the forest, rushed to the scene but could not rescue the man as there was a herd of about 50 elephants hovering around the scene. "Jumbo! Wasn't there a car here just a minute ago?" "I thought I saw one, too. Say! What's the matter with Tusko?" Mr Lutukai said there were many accidents in the area because of overgrown shrubs that reduced visibility on the 6km stretch. He also said that there were no warning signs for motorists that they were driving through a forest. The trees weren't a giveaway? Couldn't see the forest for the trees, of course. Can't blame a man -- or an elephant -- for that. "The accident could have been avoided if the road had markings indicating it is passing through a forested area," he said. Mr Lutukai said his department would write to the Ministry of Roads to have the necessary markings put up. "Dalton, maybe you'd better slow down! There are trees all around us! I think we're in a forest!" "Tut tut! Obviously we're not, since there's no sign!" Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... another car overturned as its driver evaded an elephant crossing the road. Which brings up the question: Why did the elephant cross the road? Mr Lutukai said the vehicle occupants were unhurt. He was looking for a chicken. Isiolo Kenya Wildlife Service warden Thomas Mailu blamed the accidents on speeding drivers. "Hey! Slow [CRASH!] down." "It is clear the vehicle was speeding. It's rare to see an elephant die after being knocked down," he said and asked drivers to be careful while passing through the forest. And next time that elephant might be a tiger. Tigers are generally not satisfied with merely falling on attacking cars. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #10 Corrected, just looking for a cab then. http://www.adn.com/2007/12/18/v-gallery/239052/buzzwinkle.html#id=239298&view=large_view |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2011-02-17 19:00 |
| #9 swksvolFF: I do not create similar problems. I rarely, if ever, stomp on cars. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-02-17 17:48 |
| #8 I nearly hit a black bear with a Mercury Lynx once. It would have destroyed the car and gotten the bear pissed at me. An elephant would be orders of magnitude worse to run into. |
| Posted by: Mike 2011-02-17 15:41 |
| #7 ANOTHER government failure - failed to put up "Elephant Crossing" signs, so careless drivers would know what's going to kill them. Always paying more, getting less... |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2011-02-17 13:34 |
| #6 Ok what's the real Elephant in the room here? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2011-02-17 13:16 |
| #5 I was just thinking, they can't put up "Elephant Crosing" signs, it'd bankrupt them. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2011-02-17 12:11 |
| #4 Did it make a sound? (/tasteless joke, condolences to the family. I hear Moose create similar problems, really anything taller than the top of the cab of the vehicle) |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2011-02-17 11:33 |
| #3 "The accident could have been avoided if the road had markings indicating it is passing through a forested area," he said. Mr Lutukai said his department would write to the Ministry of Roads to have the necessary markings put up. Sounds like Africa has its share of liberals, too. And judging from the apparent excited state of the elephant in the picture, I recommend staying out of the back seat if he runs around behind the car to get a better angle on things. |
| Posted by: gorb 2011-02-17 11:00 |
| #2 Judging from the article the elephant was killed as well. In that these were African elephants, and there were a bunch of them about, this could be a very bad thing. Sometimes elephants do conduct acts of revenge. This would amount to an elephant raid on a village, killing lots of people. Which has happened a lot in recent years. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-02-17 09:05 |
| #1 Comparison - Elephant & Car - Remember, if you are ever in this situation, the Elephant should ALWAYS have the right-of-way. |
| Posted by: Goodluck 2011-02-17 07:16 |