Pickup truck driver has minor injuries after bison collision

RCMP say a driver escaped with minor injuries after their pickup truck collided with a group of bison on Highway 3 on Saturday evening.

Police said they received a call about the collision just after 7pm that evening. The driver was picked up by a transport truck and brought to safety in Yellowknife, RCMP stated.

“The driver reported some minor injuries including cuts and bruises,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl Matt Halstead wrote in an email.

The report came after photos circulated on Facebook in the Northwest Territories that appeared to show a number of bison prone in the snow and a wrecked vehicle along Highway 3.

While RCMP initially stated that the driver had collided with one bison, in a press release on Monday morning, it stated the driver had collided with a group of bison.

Police said wildlife offers were called to “dispatch a number of injured bison.”

“Bison are hard to spot in the dark and RCMP are reminding driver’s that we share our roadways with these animals,” the release states. “Please drive with extra caution in areas where bison are known to frequent and remember that slippery road conditions are likely to effect how quickly you can slow or stop to avoid wildlife.”