A Maine State Trooper was injured last night when his cruiser hit a moose. Trooper Dennis Quint was headed to a report of a moose-car collision when the moose walked out in front of him.

Quint was traveling north on Route 1 in Cyr Plantation when the accident happened at around 11:30 Tuesday night. He said the moose walked across the road in front of him and there was no way he could avoid hitting it.

The cruiser sustained extensive damage to the hood and roof. Quint was taken to a local hospital for treatment of some cuts to his head.

When the accident happened, Quint was on his way to a similar accident in Cyr Plantation. Trooper Shawn Whalen took that call and found a car driven by 26-year-old Melissa Martin of Van Buren damaged from a collision with a moose.

Martin was also headed north on Route 1 when a moose walked out in front of her and she was unable to avoid hitting it. Martin and her passenger, Darlene Dias, age 30 of Van Buren were taken to Cary Medical Center and treated for non-life threatening injuries.

State Police warn motorists to exercise caution when driving at night because moose, despite their size, are virtually invisible due to their dark coloring and, because of their height, motorists can't see the animal's eyes reflecting light. Moose will suddenly dart into the road during the summer to escape insects and are especially active at night.

Maine records over 500 moose-vehicle crashes annually, many resulting in serious injury. There were no fatal moose collisions in 2013 and in 2011, but two people died in separate moose crashes in 2012, and there were three fatal moose collisions in 2010. 2014 saw its first fatal moose-vehicle collision on Tuesday morning in Howland.

 

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