A woman escaped injury after the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says she struck a 550- to 600-pound elk on southwest 84th Street Monday night. LSO Chief Deputy Ben Houchin says deputies responded to the Southwest 84th Street between West Pioneers Boulevard and West Van Dorn around 9:45 p.m.
Houchin says the driver initially described it as the biggest deer she had ever seen. When deputies arrived, they discovered the animal was actually an elk. Houchin says elk are uncommon in Lancaster County, although an occasional bull wanders into the area.
“This is a first, and I’ve been doing this a long time,” Houchin says. “Just spotting them is not very common.” Houchin says he found reports of elk being spotted near Lincoln, including around the airport, but deputies are not aware of previously investigating a vehicle-elk collision.
The vehicle was a total loss, but the driver was not injured. Houchin says the outcome could have been much worse, noting the animal could have gone through the windshield. He says people have died in deer-vehicle crashes for that reason.
“We’re very lucky, very lucky on that,” Houchin says. Deputies contacted Game and Parks, which took possession of the elk.
(Photos: Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office)