A man stands next to a dead elephant after it was hit by a passenger bus on the outskirts of Mexico City, early Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008. The five-ton elephant escaped from a circus and wandered onto a busy highway, where it was hit by a bus and died on Tuesday. State officials said bus driver also was killed and at least four passengers were hospitalized. (AP Photo)
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A five-ton elephant escaped from a circus and wandered onto a busy highway, where it was hit by a bus. Both the driver and pachyderm were killed early Tuesday.
Bus driver Tomas Lopez, 49, was killed and at least four passengers were hospitalized after the pre-dawn collision in Ecatepec, just north of Mexico City.
State police spokesman Juan Sanchez said the elephant escaped from its cage at the Circo Union, but he declined to give any other details. He said officials were investigating.
The state-funded Notimex news agency reported that the elephant named Indra escaped as its keeper arrived to feed it, knocking down a metal door and wandering through two neighborhoods before trying to cross the highway.
Last month, a 500-pound lion escaped from a local lawmaker's private zoo in southern Mexico, killing two dogs and a pig and attacking a woman and child on a donkey before it was sedated and captured.
Related News
- Mexico: One Dead and Four Hurt as Escaped Elephant Is Hit by Bus
New York Times - 11 hours ago - Driver killed as bus hits escaped elephant
NEWS.com.au - 13 hours ago - Bus crashes into escaped circus elephant in Mexico; driver ...
The Canadian Press - 19 hours ago
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17 comments:
SADDLE UP, WE RIDE AT MIDNIGHT!!!! I smell a witch hunt coming!!!! Read the article from the DJ in Canada who claims not to be a tree hugger. He reports on 4 other traffic accidents and only advocates putting the victim of this one in a sanctuary.
Wade
Wade,
All hell is going to break loose now with animal rights activists.
News like this just chills the soul, poor Indra. I can't think of much to say, so I will leave it at that.
Amy
Amy,
Does the news of the other accidents on the Canadian article "chill the soul" as well?
Wade
Chills the soul???
WTF????
You know how many elk and deer crash into cars and kill people everyday?
Chills the soul, is the death of the last one of something. It sucks that the elephant and the 4 people died. Sympathy is in order. But for christ sakes people crash into animals while driving ALL THE TIME and it doesn't even make the local newspaper where I live. I am worried Amy feels worse for the elephant then the loss of human life, which is more valuable no matter what anyone thinks. So while she is mourning this elephant, and the 250 squirrels and rabbits that got hit just within 15 miles of her house last night, lets move on....
Wade,
Are you refering to this?
"Last month, a 225-kilogram lion escaped from a private zoo owned by a local legislator in southern Mexico. The animal killed two dogs and a pig and attacked a woman and child on a donkey before it was sedated and caught."
Yes, it is also quite chilling, mostly sad for both the lion, the family, and the pet owners. I am presuming the lion was put down after this as well? At least the woman and child are still alive, but I feel bad for the owners who lost their dogs and pig.
If you are referring to DJ in Canada and his "non-tree hugger" report which mocks the accident in the headline, don't get me started on that. You can't put a funny headline like that when something and someone have been killed, then turn around and make it serious. it would be like a reporter on 9/11 using the headline "A plane crashed into the Twin Towers today. The building nor the plane followed proper landing procedures"
Amy
Casey,
I think the elk, deer, etc. being there long before the cars arrived, probably were trying to get across the road into another part of their habitat. It is different then a non-native species escaping from confinement and dashing into the road.
Wade
Amy,
No I was referring the the links at the side reporting on more "traditional" traffic accidents, school bus, etc. There wasn't the same suggestion of pity for the victims and even no suggest of putting all five year old children in Sanctuary's for their safety, as "we owe them more, then what happened." Gotta keep things real, and not "knee jerk" situations.
Wade
Wade
In TX if you hit a farmers cow or horse in a state highway. Not only can you not sue the farmer that let it get loose (wrongful death or punitive damages) you also owe him a new horse or cow. It is a sad story why I know this to be fact.
Casey,
Wow, that's a bull shit law. I can see that being the case, if you drove into the pasture, and ran one down, but I sure don't see it if you whacked his property someplace where it didn't belong.
But what do you expect. Texas law has been on the down slide since the death's of Captain's Augustus McCrae and Woodrow F. Call.
Wade
Wade,
All acidents are chilling when loss of a human life or an animal are involved. One of my driver's nephew was street car racing and crashed in a construction area. His brain swelled and he died a week later. Yes Casey, I feel awful for the opossums and the raccoons and the squirrels I see every day on my way to work, but people's pets make me feel worse and ambulances racing past me make my stomach tighten in knots. Loss of anything is tragic, from the dog on the side of the road to the death of caretaker at an elderly home who was shot by one of the residents in Tacoma a week or so ago.
Amy
The guy on the show that told me about this accident yesterday said his family was on Circo Union long ago and they had an elephant die in a wreck involving a truck going off a cliff in Gudaljara. Not really great luck there with trucks and elephants.
Casey,
The only option any elephant sent to Mexico has is to wait for a reprieve call from the Governor. If it doesn't come, the other option will soon enouth.
Wade
Amy,
I don't understand your differentiation between a pet or a wild animal. As long as a human can get something from a pet, that they can't get from other members of their human species, there will be a need for pets and they will never fade into extinction. The wild animal who doesn't cuddle and "tell" a person how wonderful they are, regardless of what other people think doesn't have that option, and needs a more intellectual, not emotional thought into their demise.
Wade
Wade,
The difference is I have been in that situation. I feel bad for the animal like I do for a squirrel, but I feel worse about a pet because I know there is someone looking for it. Someone hoping its just lost. Luckily none of my pets have died from a car related injury, but my cousins' lost their dog and the search ended at the humane society after the dog had been picked up on the side of the road. I feel bad because many animals are just left there to rot, and their owners none the wiser.
Amy
Amy,
It still pales in comparison to a parent, losing a child, or having a child "disappear" never knowing their whereabouts or eventual situation. Nothing in this world could compare with that.
Wade
Wade,
I completely agree with that and never said human life pales in comparison. I just feel sad for anyone or anything that dies. I could never work at a vet clinic or a hospital for that exact reason. I was never brought up to be empathetic towards everyone and everything, I just am.
Amy
did any one heard or said anything about the drunk that got hit by a car as he was going to the show to see if he could get in . this happen in the mall in Quebec city . i bet no one even knew it happen even us didnt know till next day when i ask a cop about the commotion . i bet it didnt make the 6 oclock news. CleanRaul
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