The grandfather tossed into the air by an agitated bison at Yellowstone National Park‘s Bridge Bay Campground Friday evening has been identified as 65-year-old Carl McDaniel.
McDaniel and his 13-year-old grandson had kept roughly a hundred yards of distance from the bison, which appeared to be wallowing in the dirt and showed no signs of aggression. The pair snapped a photo and continued on their walk. As previously reported, a passing pickup truck honked its horn near the animal, which may have reignited its agitated state moments before it turned and charged.
A tourist was seriously injured after a bison tossed them about 8 feet into the air in Yellowstone National Park
by u/eternviking in whoathatsinteresting
With the bison closing the distance in seconds, McDaniel sent his grandson running in one direction while he moved the opposite way to draw the animal off. The bison caught up to him and used its head to launch him into the air before he came down hard on the ground. Bystanders who rushed in to divert the animal, as previously reported, allowed McDaniel to be pulled from the scene once the bison ran off.
Yellowstone emergency medical personnel transported McDaniel on a two hour trip to a hospital in Bozeman. There, doctors found he had broken his femur, the body’s strongest bone, in four places near the hip, along with several bruises.
McDaniel underwent surgery Sunday and was able to stand by Monday, with physical therapy ahead as he works toward walking again. This situation marks the second bison related injury at Yellowstone this year, following a June 26 incident near Mud Volcano involving a 12-year-old visitor.
