The Associated Press

SATSOP — Two pickup trucks and an SUV plowed into a herd of elk trying to cross U.S. Highway 12 at Satsop in Grays Harbor County, killing seven of the animals.

The State Patrol said no people were injured in the collision at 9 p.m. Monday but all three vehicles had to be towed away.

Trooper Russ Winger says elk are occasionally hit on Olympic Peninsula highways, but that number of animals killed at one time was unusual.

State Fish and Wildlife spokesman Craig Bartlett said two wildlife agents responded to the scene and euthanized seven injured animals. The carcasses were donated to area tribes.

Bartlett said a herd of 75 to 100 elk roams the area but it’s unknown how many were on the highway at the time.