|
Engineer killed after his car hits elephant in forest
[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 2011-02-17 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=316241 |