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Motorcyclist injured after hitting moose

A motorcyclist hit a moose on Friday, sending him and his bike 50 feet down an embankment.
8225744_web1_170529-LDN-M-Moose
A moose, not the one involved in the accident. (Black Press file)

A motorcyclist hit a moose on Aug. 18, sending him and his bike 50 feet down an embankment.

The accident occurred on Highway 3 near Ootischenia before 12:29 p.m., when the call came in to emergency responders. Two motorcyclists were travelling together when one hit the moose and slid down the bank. The other motorcyclist, the first man’s brother, skidded to a stop and dumped his bike.

“When we showed up on scene we had one motorcycle dumped on the highway and then BC Ambulance was down below treating a patient and RCMP were up top starting to assist traffic control,” explained Len Coats, deputy fire chief for the Ootischenia Fire Department.

Firefighters set up traffic control and then began assisting BC Ambulance with treating the man who’d gone down the bank.

“From there we called in Castlegar [Fire Department] to assist because we were going to have to get him up and they’re the ones that are capable of an over-the-bank rescue,” said Coats.

A conservation officer was also on scene looking for the moose, but it was nowhere to be found, according to Coats.

Though the second motorcyclist appeared uninjured, both men were taken to the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital.

Coats said that all personnel involved worked well together on scene.

“And that was the key thing that helped everything go smoothly to get the patiently up quickly,” he concluded.