Woman gored by bison during Yellowstone trip gets engaged next to hospital bed
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A bison attack derailed Chris Whitehill's plans to propose to Amber Harris at Yellowstone National Park this week, but it didn't wreck them entirely.
In a silver lining to the scary ordeal, the couple got engaged in the hospital July 17 after Harris was seriously injured when a bison gored her near Lake Yellowstone.
"I've replayed it so many times, it was such a freak accident," Whitehill told NBC's "TODAY" show.
Harris, 47, was enjoying morning coffee with Whitehill and her daughter, Rylee Eckbad, when they spotted a pair of bison. One that was about 50 yards away began dropping and rolling in the dirt before running toward them, Harris wrote on Facebook.
"We just kept moving away, moving away," Whitehill said. "I told Amber, 'Do not run.'"
The bison, which can run three times as fast as a human, charged at Harris.
"He struck her head-on and she was airborne," Whitehill told NBC affiliate KPNX of Phoenix. "I think she did one or two backflips in the air, and I was screaming and yelling trying to distract him. She landed pretty hard on her back."
The National Park Service said in a news release that she was transported by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. It's the first reported instance of a bison goring at the park this year and the first since June 2022, park officials said.
Harris wrote on Facebook that she suffered seven spinal fractures, bilateral collapsed lungs and "bruising all over."
"Glory to God all my vital organs look good," she wrote.
She entered the hospital as Whitehill's girlfriend and will exit it as his fiancee after he went through with his proposal in a much different setting than hoped.
"Chris had planned a beautiful marriage proposal this week on a natural bridge but all three of us have been in the hospital since yesterday morning and I won't be able to leave any time soon," Harris wrote on Facebook. "So my love got down on one knee beside my hospital bed last night and formally asked me to be his wife.
"Without any hesitation I said yes!"
Harris' ordeal came after another woman was gored by a bison at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota last weekend.
While bison attacks are rare, the National Park Service is reminding tourists to keep their distance, especially during the summer mating season that runs through the middle of August.
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In Yellowstone alone there have been 56 attacks and 2 deaths from bison this year. Congrats to the couple, but people need to understand these things aren't Holsteins.
he should take out a multi-million dollar life insurance policy on his bride and visit the park every anniversary. /s
The article doesn't state exactly where they were having their morning coffee but most bison attacks in Yellowstone occur when humans approach too closely.
If this family was in a designated campground seems they might have grounds for a lawsuit.
At the very least, Yellowstone owes them lots and lots of money.
The immediate medical bills alone will be financially crippling.
I don't think this is the type of goring the future bride had in mind for her engagement vacation...
They will lose the case, the park (s) have been sued before for this and up to a death and lost every time that I'm aware of.
And I doubt they could get much from suing the Bison............
No deep pockets.
Yellowstone park policy dictates that this bison will have to be put down.
Was camping with my folks in a campground at the base of Pike's Peak once when a bear went nuts on one of the cabins. We were all just standing around watching it like idiots when a ranger just walked up to it, yelled at it and then unloaded a 12 gauge into its head. Made quite an impression on my 10-year-old mind.
This lady is not wife material. She is a gore.
And they say "everything happens for a reason"