HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. -- Four circus elephants and their driver walked away from a crash unharmed Sunday night after the driver reported another vehicle merged into his lane on Interstate 10, causing him to run off the highway, according to the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
Terence Crowley of Hugo, Okla., was driving a truck and hauling the elephants in a trailer when the truck and trailer ran off the highway into woods near the 8 mile-marker in Hancock County, MHP Master Sgt. Johnny Poulos said.
The truck and trailer travelled down an embankment and the front of the truck came to rest at the edge of a treeline. Poulos said the truck's front axle broke, but no injuries were reported.
The westbound tractor-trailer had left Mobile and was heading to Hammond, La., when the crash occurred, according to Firefighter Kurt Necaise of West Hancock Fire Rescue, based in Pearlington.
"The truck and the trailer remained upright," Necaise said. "It took us a couple of hours to clear the scene."
The crash was reported about 11:15 p.m.
Firefighters said the owners of the elephants sent help to off-load the animals from the trailer and held them along the side of the highway.
Pictures submitted by first responders show the elephants walking with trunks holding tails as they were moved around.
Authorities said three of the elephants were put back on the trailer and a tow truck drove the trailer to a welcome center near the Louisiana state line, where another driver picked up the trailer. One of the elephants was angry and uncooperative, and was transported separately, authorities said.
The elephants were due to perform a two-day run starting Monday for the Cole Brothers Circus of the Stars in Hammond, La.
The elephants were calm and playful Monday, a circus official told The Associated Press.
No details about the elephants were released.
According to the Cole Brothers' website, its elephants are from The Endangered Ark Foundation, home of the second largest herd of elephants in the United States.
Copyright 2012 - The Sun Herald
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
