....Elephant flees circus, swipes car on U.S. 81....

Published: November 05, 2009 12:30 am

By Kasey Fowler, Staff Writer

An escaped circus elephant caused a vehicle accident Wednesday night as it ran along North U.S. 81 Bypass near P&K Equipment.

The elephant escaped from the Family Fun Circus at the Garfield County Fairgrounds after being spooked.

According to Enid Police Department Sgt. Billy Varney, the couple in the vehicle were not injured. The elephant suffered a broken tusk, a hurt leg and bumps, bruises and scratches, he said.

“The vehicle side-swiped the elephant as it ran along the road. The vehicle was able to drive away,” Varney said around 10 p.m. Wednesday.

The elephant was loaded into a semi-trailer at 11:19 p.m.

The vehicle did sustain some damage. According to Varney, the elephant’s tusk tore a hole in the vehicle’s sheet metal.

One of the animal’s handlers with the circus was slightly injured as he tried to subdue the elephant, apparently suffering injured ribs.

Officers waited for Enid veterinarian Dwight Olson to arrive to sedate the elephant, Varney said. Once it was sedated, workers planned to load the elephant in a semi-trailer to transport it.