An ambulance collided with a moose early Sunday as it responded to another crash, also involving a moose, Ontario Provincial Police say.
The first crash was reported just after 1 a.m. on Highway 60, near Tea Lake in Algonquin Park, police said. A vehicle struck a moose, left the roadway and then hit a tree.
“One of the two Muskoka Paramedic Service ambulances responding to the scene also collided with a moose,” police said, adding that the ambulance was “extensively” damaged, but no one was injured.
Two people were injured in the initial crash, one of whom was reported to have life-threatening injuries. Both victims were taken to a hospital in Huntsville before the critically injured victim — a 40-year-old woman — was transferred to a Toronto trauma centre, police said.
The other victim, a 45-year-old man, stayed in Huntsville and was reported to be in stable condition.
Police said both the injured man and woman are residents of Quebec.
Highway 60 was closed in the area as officers investigated.
OPP said the officers responding to the first collision had also just finished investigating another crash between a car and a moose, but there were no serious injuries in that incident.
“The OPP warns motorists that an increasing number of moose have been coming out of the forest and onto roads, particularly in the area of Algonquin Park, in an effort to escape from swarms of insects,” police noted.
“Please observe posted speed limits in order to ensure you have adequate reaction and keep your eyes on the road and ditches ahead.”