Posted on 02/01/2005 8:54:19 AM PST by Hi Heels
Elephant Tramples Circus Worker to Death
42 minutes ago U.S. National - AP
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - An elephant being loaded onto a truck trampled a circus animal trainer to death at Memorial Coliseum, police said.
Three handlers were loading the elephant Monday as crews packed up from this weekend's Shrine Circus, officials said. Two of the workers left the trailer and one man stayed behind to lock the trailer door.
A coliseum employee later saw the man lying inside a semitrailer with the elephants and alerted other handlers, said Victor Hopkins, spokesman for the Allen County Sheriff's Department. The man was taken to a hospital and died a few hours later.
Police said they did not know how many times the elephant stepped on the man, whose name was not released.
The elephants were calm when the other handlers returned to check on the man.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (news - web sites), which regulates circuses through the Animal Welfare Act, is looking into the incident, USDA spokesman Darby Holladay said.
Representatives of the circus could not be located for comment Tuesday.
Elephants are the largest of all land animals, and depending on the sex and species they could reach 13 feet in height and weigh up to 6.5 tons, according to the Humane Society of the United States' Web site.
Captive elephants from 1990 to 2003 killed 65 people and injured 130, according to Circuses.com.
Three handlers were loading the elephant Monday as crews packed up from this weekend's Shrine Circus, officials said. Two of the workers left the trailer and one man stayed behind to lock the trailer door.
I guess I’m just cynical, but this sounds like the setup for a Columbo episode.
Somebody needs to act absent-minded and question these other workers nine or ten times to mine for inconsistencies.
If that fails, have Quincy do an autopsy. "Something's just not right, Sam..."
Nah...the elephant remained calm at the scene of the crime....he knew better. It's gotten around the elephant community to remain calm after trampling and you will live. LOL! If the elephant was acting 'crazy' or 'insane' then he would of been shot in the head. The elephants are wising up.
THAT was very kewl....
I guess it's true then....that elephants never forget? :)
you and me both.
"A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer in you pants"
- Chuckles the Clown
Hope I won't have to turn in my elephant.
'Representatives of the circus could not be located for comment Tuesday.'
Let me get this straight, the press couldn't find the circus? How did they manage to let the circus get away?
This just seems really, really funny to me when I think about it.
..
Goodness! What was that guy doing??? All he had to do was lock the trailer. How long could that possibly take?
Autopsy came back this afternoon. He was trampled by not one but two elephants. As of this morning, they were unsure if he had been trampled by an elephant. I think if someone is trampled by an elephant, you pretty well can tell.
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