Crashes spur warning about wildlife on roads

Rutland Herald

By Emily Cutts
staff writer | August 06,2015

 

After recent crashes involving wildlife, the state Department of Motor Vehicles is reminding motorists to keep eyes on the road and on the lookout for animals.

“Be a little bit more vigilant; when you drive, you should be looking ahead anyway,” said Capt. Jake Elovirta of the department’s Enforcement and Safety Division. “Even when the roads are clear, stay focused on the road ahead of you, looking to the sides of the road, too.”

Two inspectors with the department were involved in separate crashes with wildlife Monday.

Just before 8:20 a.m. Monday, Inspector Genevieve Paul struck and killed a six-point buck that crossed in front of her cruiser on Route 128 in Westford, according to a DMV news release.

Paul was unable to avoid the buck, and hit it with the front bumper, leaving no damage to the vehicle. Paul was uninjured.

Eight hours later, at 4:40 p.m., Capt. Drew Bloom struck a fully grown bear while traveling north on Interstate 89 in Richmond, the release said.

The bear ran into traffic from a wooded section of the center median and was crossing through the left lane when it was stuck by Bloom.

The bear rolled off the highway into the brush. Bloom was uninjured, but the unmarked cruiser, a 2011 Chevrolet Caprice, sustained an estimated $4,700 in damage.

Locally, a man was killed after he collided with a bull that wandered into the road in Killington.

Jon M. Bellis, 64, of Woodbridge, Conn., died late last week after hitting a large Scottish Highland bull that had escaped from a fenced pasture near Mosher’s Excavation. He crashed into a tree after hitting the animal, police said.

The bull died in the crash.

Bellis’ wife, Kathryn Barry Bellis, 60, suffered a wrist injury. The family’s dog, Leo, was missing for more than three days before he was found near the scene of the crash.

According to AAA, collisions with animals resulted in 2,083 fatal crashes and 2,194 fatalities between 2001 and 2011 nationwide.

A 2008 study by the Federal Highway Administration estimated there were 1 to 2 million collisions between cars and large animals every year in the United States.

Killington Town Clerk Lucrecia Wonsor knows from experience how quickly collisions with wildlife can happen. On a recent drive on Route 4 in Killington, a deer jumped between her car and the car in front of her.

“It literally jumped, it must have been in the ditch on the right hand side,” she said.

Unable to stop or avoid it, Wonsor hit and killed the deer. She was uninjured, but her car was damaged.

Wonsor said the driver ahead of her stopped to assist and she called police — which Elovirta of DMV recommends that everyone should do in that situation.

“Let local law enforcement know so they are aware,” he said. “Sometimes the animal is still alive so the agencies may notify Fish & Wildlife wardens of the situation. If the animal is suffering you don’t want it to suffer.”