CATALDO – The opening day of rifle hunting season is almost a holiday in Idaho. Employees in every type of business or establishment across the area burn sick and/or vacation days for the chance of filling their freezer with meat. In the case of Shoshone News-Press circulation director Laurie Hurd-Cochrane though, taking a little time off after “bagging” a moose on the way to work with the hood of her car probably wasn’t the plan.

On the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 10, Hurd-Cochrane was heading eastbound on Interstate-90 with her juvenile son after dropping her daughter off in Rose Lake.

Cruising at 75 mph, Hurd-Cochrane was creeping up on another vehicle in the right hand lane, so she decided to pass them.

“I’m very good about setting my speedometer to no more than 75, I do not like to go faster than that,” she said.

Right around the Cataldo Mission and during the act of passing, her son then noticed an animal in the distance.

“I was passing somebody and my son goes, ‘Mom! Moose!’ and I was thinking he was talking about over there (off in the distance).”

Once she understood that the moose was actually coming toward the roadway from the westbound side, she quickly took her foot off the gas and started to apply the breaks roughly 25-30 yards from the animal.

With another vehicle to her right and the side of the road to the left, there were few options.

Hurd-Cochrane’s vehicle hit the roughly 3 year-old cow moose broadside going roughly 50 mph.

“As soon as we hit, I pulled off to the side of the road as quickly as I could, got out, looked at it, and my windshield was crushed,” she said.

The engine compartment of the vehicle also suffered damage as a result of the collision.

Thankfully for her and her son though, neither received any major injuries.

Emergency personnel from Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 and Idaho State Police responded to the incident.

Looking back now, Hurd-Cochrane chuckled at the circumstances surrounding the collision.

“The only other critter I have hit was a bird, o i skipped the deer, skipped the elk, and went right to the moose on opening day.”

As for the deceased moose, Hurd-Cochrane and her family were allowed to keep the animal after filling out the appropriate paperwork and acquiring the right tags.

It is common for large game, such as moose, deer or elk, to travel in groups– so if you see one of these animals crossing the road, it is recommended to be on the lookout for more.