Tuesday 15 December 2009

"Man killed by flying kangaroo"

Here's one I appear to have overlooked - from The Metro 17 October 2009:

A man is dead after a large kangaroo crashed through his car windscreen in Australia, police said Tuesday. The 4 foot-plus kangaroo was struck by a four-wheel-drive on the road, and catapaulted into the path of the victim's oncoming car, police said of the incident near Manjimup town in Western Australian outback.

A police statement said: 'The animal went through the windscreen of the sedan and into the back seat causing the driver to lose control and crash the vehicle'

Police spokeswoman Ros Weatherall said the kangaroo hit the 50-year-old driver as it flew through the car, causing him serious head injuries. He was airlifted to a Perth hospital, but died on Monday, police said. 'It was very unfortunate,' Weatherall understated.

8 comments:

James Higham said...

That's no freak accident - those things happened all the time.

Mark Wadsworth said...

JH, if it happens all the time then that makes it worse. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action.

dearieme said...

The enemy action is concentrated around dawn and dusk. And if you must hit one, choose a joey.

Mark Wadsworth said...

Dearieme: the voice of experience. Do you sometimes worry that you were the one who sparked all these revenge attacks?

Anonymous said...

We used to get fruitbats in our mango tree in Queensland. Did I bother them? Not me. It's true I took a spade to the snakes that the cats brought to the kitchen door, but what is one to do with venomous wrigglies? Back in these benign isles, it wasn't my fault all those squirrels drowned in our waterbutt. I am a man of moderation; I saw a mink a few weeks back, and refrained from heaving half a brick at it. As a boy I used to catch eels and then dispatch them, but boys will be boys, surely?

promotional items said...

Kangaroos are not killed legally for sport, but several million are shot under permit every year by licensed professional shooters in an essential government controlled cull.

Lola said...

Dear All,

A couple of things. An Aussie mate of mine had a mate of his killed by a 'Roo that crashed through the windscreen of his Mini (this was in the '60's) and kicked him to death in the back of the head. The 'Roo survived. Evidence that they have been at it for some time.

And a couple of days ago, in the early evening, a largish deer had a go at me and thought better of it. I was driving home down the lanes near where I live and it bounded out of the hedge on the left. Took one look at my car (I drive an L-R Defender) and leapt out of the way, correctly diving that the result of any collission or kamikaze attack would be L-R Defender one, kamikaze animal strikes nil.

Deer have form on this with me. A Scottish stag (large) tried it on some years ago and came off second best, and limped away to recover.

Perhaps they've traced me through Google earth and put a call through to the local branch of deer-kay-eeda to try and finish off the job. Or perhaps it's revenge.

What's more, whilst out walking the dogs early this a.m., I caught three of them stalking me

Should I be worried?

Lola

Mark Wadsworth said...

L, yes, you should be. These ruminants appear to have a collective memory and the ability to co-ordinate attacks across the globe.