PROVO CANYON, Utah County (ABC 4 News) - Marchelle Elmer and her husband were just coming back from a day of photographing wildlife around Cascade Springs, when they came upon a herd of 15-to-20 elk walking down the westbound lanes of Highway 189 in Provo Canyon. The elk were just a mile east of the turnoff for the Sundance Ski Resort along a section where the highway is split – the westbound lanes are elevated about 50-feet above the eastbound lanes.
“The car in front of us slowed down,” recalled Elmer, “we slowed down.” Her husband put on the flashers and Marchelle leaned out the window to get what she hoped would be her best shot of the day. Then trouble comes around the bend. “This Land Rover came flying past us and started pushing the elk down. When we were behind them, they were walking. When he was behind them, they were running.”
Most of the elk ran down the road. Six followed a bull and jumping over the railing and plunging down onto the lanes below. Those six died. Fortunately, they did not hit the cars traveling east. Marchelle said, “It was frightening to watch them jump. But we were more scared one of them would land on a car and really hurt somebody.”
In fact, Wildlife Officer Ryan Karren believes a 500-pound elk falling 50-feet onto a car would have been deadly. “He felt his need to get to Provo or wherever he was going was greater than the safety of other drivers and the elk.” Officer Karren has interviewed the driver and will refer his findings of his investigation to the Utah County attorney for possible charges.
Marchelle Elmer doesn’t just shoot wildlife with her camera. She’s also used a gun during hunting season. Once she shot a 6 by 6 bull elk. It’s now mounted on the wall of her Springville living room along with the best of her photography. Killing an elk in the hunt didn’t faze her. But what she saw Sunday evening in Provo Canyon did. It shocked her, scared her and brought tears to her eyes.
