By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
While the investigating trooper reported a Long Beach Police Department officer from Curtis was injured when he struck an elk on the highway early Monday, his chief says he was unhurt.
“He’s fine, nobody was hurt,” Long Beach Police Department Flint Wright said.
Officer Michael T. Parker, 38, was crawling about 15 mph on northbound U.S. Highway 101 about three miles east of Long Beach because he came upon a herd of elk, and two of the animals came off the side of the road and T-boned his patrol car, according to Wright.
Parker was transporting a prisoner to the jail and they went to the hospital as a precautionary measure, Wright said.
The damage to the 2005 Ford Crown Victoria was described as “reportable”, but Wright said the estimated $6,000 to $7,000 to repair it meant it probably won’t get fixed.
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For background, read “News brief: Police officer from Curtis hospitalized after colliding with elk” from Monday May 4, 2015, here [1]