'Coroner Pissed There’s No Box For "Trampled By Elephants In Maine" On The Form'

“HOPE — A former veterinarian who turned a small farm in midcoast Maine into a sanctuary for two retired circus elephants was killed Tuesday morning when one of the animals apparently stepped on him after he fell in their enclosure. James Laurita, co-founder of Hope Elephants, was found dead inside a corral shortly after he went in to feed the two elephants, Rosie and Opal, around 7 a.m. Knox County Chief Deputy Sheriff Tim Carroll believes Laurita fell into the corral and hit his head on concrete. An autopsy conducted later Tuesday by the state medical examiner concluded that Laurita, 56, died from asphyxiation and multiple fractures resulting from compression of the chest, presumably because one of the giant mammals stepped on him. It was not immediately clear Tuesday what would become of the Hope Elephants organization or the animals themselves in the wake of Laurita’s death. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been called in to investigate, police said. A man who was keeping media away from the facility Tuesday said there is another elephant handler on staff and that an emergency plan is in place to take care of the elephants. The sheriff’s department is still investigating, but has ruled Laurita’s death an accident – one that rocked this rural town in the Camden Hills area of Knox County. (read more at the Portland Press Herald)”

http://rumfordmeteor.com/coroner-pissed-theres-box-trampled-elephants-maine-form/

Link at http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com