ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Three occupants of a sport-utility vehicle (SUV) were very lucky to have escaped without serious injuries after a moose-vehicle collision on the Trans-Canada-Highway (TCH) just outside St. John’s Saturday night.
The trio was travelling east towards St. John ‘s when they encountered the animal just before the Islander RV building about 9:30 p.m., killing the animal instantly.
The force of the collision threw the vehicle over the median crossing Cochrane Pond Park roadway and where it landed upside down on a ditch embankment.
The vehicle was heavily damaged.
First responder vehicles blocked the inside east-bound lane as the moose lay on the highway and couldn’t be moved until police finished their investigation.
Firefighters from the Mount Pearl station of the St. John’s Regional Fire Department (SJRFD) had to extricate two of the victims from the vehicle as while their young daughter sat on the ground, wrapped in a warm blanket and being reassured by firefighters and paramedics.
When The Telegram arrived on the scene just before 10 p.m., a woman was laying on the ground being immobilized by both paramedics and firefighters.
The family dog, appearing to be a beagle breed, was also near the daughter in its cage and was later removed by an RCMP officer who walking with the dog on its leash before placing it in an RCMP cruiser.
After victims were dispatched to the hospital, SJRFD Capt. AJ St. Croix spoke to The Telegram at the scene.
“We had to extricate both adults from the vehicle as the young daughter was over there sitting on the ground. She doesn’t appear to be injured too badly.
“We wanted to get the gentleman taken care of right away and get him off to hospital as he appeared to have suffered the brunt of the accident,” he said.
“They’re all very, very lucky here tonight, that’s for sure” St. Croix said.
None of the three occupants of the SUV appeared to have suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of the collision.
Due to the number of first responder vehicles on the roadway, both east and west-bound directions on the TCH were reduced to one lane for more than an hour.
The moose was removed from the highway by conservation officers once police concluded their work at the scene.
Good Samaritan campers at Cochrane Pond Park also took to the gravel roadway on ATVs to offer assistance, but the RCMP assured them all was okay and they returned to their campsites.
An RCMP collision reconstructionist was also dispatched to the scene. A provincial conservation officer estimated the bull moose to be about two years old and weighing approximately 650 pounds. He said the animal would be taken to an area and buried.
