COLLISION: The moose landed on the windshield of Lena Iren Mortensen. Photo: Lasse Jensen Nordgård
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Mother and son collided with moose on the way home: – Had lots of fur and glass in his mouth and face.
Less than 20 minutes ago
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– It went so fast, I could not register the moose until it just suddenly slammed, says Lena Iren Mortensen to VG when she describes the moment her car hit a moose that came running across the road.
The newspaper Northern Lights discussed the matter first.
On Sunday, Lena Iren Mortensen traveled home to Laksvatn with her 13-year-old son and their family dog. She had been with her mother at Sjursnes in Tromsø municipality when they suddenly collided with a moose at 90 kilometers per hour.
She describes how she suddenly had the moose’s butt over her.
– Suddenly I had lots of fur and glass in my mouth and face. The whole back of the moose was over me, while my son was sitting in the passenger seat, she says.
She shouted several times at her son who had fainted from the shock. After three times he answered back. She asked if he had got the moose over him, but fortunately he had only got moose fur over him.
—-GRATEFUL: Mortensen feels more grateful for life after the accident. Photo: Lena Iren Mortensen
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Got help from passersby
Two men on their way to Tromsø happened to pass by. They had just heard on the radio that there was a great moose danger on the road before they met Mortensen’s car with a large moose over the car window.
– They came and opened the door and said I should take the back seat to breathe, but I replied that I could not do it until my son was out of the car.
She feared that the elk would be pushed further into the car and fall over her son if she moved on the seat.
Then he went alone to my son, squatted down and started talking to him. But suddenly the moose started to move, because it was still alive then, and then they hurried and took my son out of the car, says Mortensen.
She drives a car with automatic transmission car where the alarm system had not turned on. Thus, she could not release the brakes.
– But then the men grabbed me and counted to three and pulled me out of the car. I had to release the brakes, so the car started driving slowly until it stopped at the crash barrier, she says.
While the car was driving, she told the men that the family dog was left in the car, so they ran after the car to get the dog out as well.
—-CRUSHED WINDSCREEN: This is what the windscreen looked like after the moose was removed. Photo: Lena Iren Mortensen
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Grateful for life
– I’m not crazy, I have found out, she says with a laugh in her voice.
Mortensen says that today she was on her way to the dentist to look for injuries after the accident, and felt an enormous gratitude.
– I went to the dentist because I had so much glass in my mouth. In the car, I felt so enormously happy and grateful for life, she says.
She tells how impressed she is with the help she received from those who drove by.
– The rescuers could risk their own health, because the elk was still alive when they helped us out of the car. It is absolutely fantastic how people line up when accidents strike, she says.
Speaking of moose: Do you remember this incredible moment?
When the police arrived at the scene of the accident, they killed the elk immediately. Afterwards, a tow truck arrived and transported it away from the scene.
Mortensen and his son were taken by ambulance to the hospital and stayed there overnight, while some other passers-by drove the family dog home.
Both Mortensen and his son are physically well according to the conditions. She has received some wounds and is a little sore in the neck, while her son ended up with a small concussion.
– Those at the emergency room said that it was a miracle that it had gone so well, so we have been incredibly lucky, she says.
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