The weekend started –- and ended –- with a bang for the University of Maine at Fort Kent men’s and women’s soccer teams.
After both teams won their respective games on Saturday at the State University of New York at Canton, a chartered bus carrying the players and coaches struck a large moose on Interstate Highway 95.
UMFK athletic director and men’s soccer coach Bill Ashby said the moose was killed, but the driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle and no people were hurt.
“[The driver] had no time to react at all,” Ashby told the Bangor Daily News. “There was nothing he could do. The moose’s head and antlers hit the passenger-side window of the bus and it was killed instantly. The window was cracked and damaged. I’d say the moose was about 1,000 to 1,200 pounds.”
The accident happened at 2:15 a.m. on Sunday, but the team still made it home for breakfast.
“We were delayed by a few hours and didn’t get back home until about 8:30 a.m.,” he said. “I really credit the bus driver. He kept control of the bus and was very professional.”
