A Quebec woman is in critical condition and another man was injured after a vehicle collided with a moose in Algonquin Provincial Park early Sunday morning.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were driving on Highway 60, when their vehicle collided near Tea Lake, in a rural area about 180 kilometres west of Pembroke, Ont. Police responded to the crash just after 1 a.m. on May 19.
After striking the animal, the car had left the road and struck a tree, OPP said in a news release.
One of two Muskoka Paramedic Service ambulances responding to the crash also collided with another moose. The ambulance was “extensively damaged,” but no injuries were reported.
“Officers responding to the collision had just finished investigating another collision between a car and moose, but no serious injuries,” OPP say.
The two occupants, both from Quebec, were taken to hospital in Huntsville, Ont.
The 40-year-old woman who suffered critical injuries was later transferred to a Toronto trauma centre. Her injuries are said to be life-threatening.
The other occupant, a 45-year-old male remained in a Huntsville hospital in stable condition.
Highway 60 was closed in the area to allow for an investigation by an OPP Collision Reconstructionist and members of the force’s Technical Collision Investigation Team.
“The OPP warns motorists that an increasing number of moose have been coming out of the forest and onto roads, particularly in the area of Algonquin Park, in an effort to escape from swarms of insects,” the OPP said in Sunday’s news release.
“Please, observe posted speed limits in order to ensure you have adequate reaction and keep your eyes on the road and ditches ahead.”