A Cook County Sheriff Deputy hit a moose while driving on the Gunflint Trail on Saturday, July 19, 2014, killing the moose and heavily damaging the police squad car.
Deputy Dave Gilmore was traveling southbound on the Gunflint Trail at 12:14 a.m. There were several vehicles traveling north at a slow rate of speed, following a moose that wouldn’t leave the roadway. Deputy Gilmore began to slow down because his radar showed the cars traveling so slowly and he wondered why.
As Deputy Gilmore approached he was unable to see the 400-pound bull moose until it was directly in front of him in his driving lane. Gilmore said he believes he was going about 30 mph when he struck the moose head-on, killing it on impact. The moose was given to a local person.
Deputy Gilmore suffered minor injuries and was transported to Cook County North Shore Hospital by Gunflint Ambulance as a precaution. He was able to return to work the next day.
The squad car, a 2010 Ford Crown Victoria was heavily damaged and is likely a total loss.
Reached for comment, Gilmore said, “The people who witnessed the accident were great and made sure that I was okay and took care of traffic on the Trail. The first responders who were there were also top notch as well as my fellow officers who took care of the squad and my stuff.”
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