Skip to main content

Elephant impact

British holidaymarkers were lucky to avoid being killed when an elephant unexpectedly attacked their car. The pair were visiting the Kruger National Park in South Africa when their VW Polo car was first rammed and then flipped onto its roof by the enraged male elephant. One of the elephant’s tusks pierced the door of the car, seriously injuring the woman passenger and she was taken to hospital after the attack. She recovered from the injury however and was later able to leave after treatment.
March 27, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
British holidaymarkers were lucky to avoid being killed when an elephant unexpectedly attacked their car. The pair were visiting the Kruger National Park in South Africa when their VW Polo car was first rammed and then flipped onto its roof by the enraged male elephant. One of the elephant’s tusks pierced the door of the car, seriously injuring the woman passenger and she was taken to hospital after the attack. She recovered from the injury however and was later able to leave after treatment. The elephant was later shot and killed by rangers as it was thought to present a possible danger to other park visitors. Elephant attacks on cars are comparatively rare in South Africa’s game parks but although vehicles are designed to protect occupants in the event of a crash, they are not designed to deflect elephant tusks.

Related Content

  • Carry on Movin’ On - Michelin’s mobility event
    October 15, 2018
    Many of the great and the good in the global mobility sector gathered at this year’s Movin’ On event in Montreal. Measured regulation of technologies and safety issues were major themes, reports David Arminas Autonomous vehicles, platooning, smart intersections and safety – these were the talking points over two and half days of the Movin’ On event in Montreal. Everyone in the mobility sector is at the same point, trying to see what mobility will look like in the future. Apparent at the event was just
  • Parking charges
    March 23, 2016
    A British man left his high-value, high-performance Mercedes with a valet parking firm at a UK airport. On his return he was dismayed to discover the car had clocked 1,300km or so in his absence, despite the firm’s facility being just 6.5km from the airport. Police tracked the car having been driven through four English counties. However the firm said it was unable to determine which of 15 employees had taken the car. Meanwhile another British man managed to forget where he had parked his VW. He had att
  • US road safety remains a cause for concern
    August 9, 2021
    US road safety remains a cause for concern with an increase in casualties.
  • Ohio reveals worrying data on workzone crashes
    April 23, 2013
    New data from the US state of Ohio reveals worryingly high levels of highway construction work zone deaths. Fatalities in the state’s highway work zones doubled in the period from 2009-2011, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The figures are the most recent available and include both motorists and construction workers. Meanwhile, ODOT is piloting a new program aimed at reducing vehicle crashes and making construction work zones safer. “ODOT tries to do all we can to e