Paralyzed hunter surprises family by bagging moose from vehicle

RIGBY, Idaho — Kym Savkranz had trouble believing what she heard when her dad called to say he'd shot his moose.

Her disbelief had nothing to do with the accident 11 years ago that left Pierre Savkranz without the use of his body from the chest down. It had nothing to do with her dad's confinement to a motorized wheelchair or the struggle he would endure to lift and aim a rifle.

It had everything to do with dad's teasing nature.

"I was always joking around about it, that I'd save this (hunt) for my mid-life crisis," Pierre said.

But something — Pierre's excitement — told 14-year-old Kym that dad wasn't joking this time.

In March, Pierre put in for a bull tag near Mesa Falls.

Mike LaFreniere agreed to join Pierre on the hunt should Pierre pull a tag — a possibility both men considered a long shot.

Pierre, who had never put in before, was after one of 10 permits available in that unit for the season that stretched from Aug. 30 to Nov. 23. One hundred people put in for that tag.

We'll see, they thought.

In late May, Pierre opened a letter from Idaho Department of Fish and Game Bureau of Wildlife Chief Jim Unsworth.

"Dear Permit Holder," it began. "Congratulations on drawing a moose permit!"

"If I got one, it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing," Pierre said. "If I didn't get one, I'd have to wait two more years to put in again."

Pierre started by buying a Winchester 300 WSM. It's a lighter rifle with a synthetic stock that would prove easier to manipulate with the limited movement of his arms and hands.

Pierre, who was born in Sweden but moved to the United States at 3, enjoyed hunting and the outdoors his entire life.

Coming back from a hunting trip in 1996, Pierre fell asleep while riding in the passenger seat.

At some point after that the driver fell asleep, too.

The truck rolled once. Pierre banged his head and broke his neck.

He lost all use of his limbs and spent six months in hospitals in Idaho and Colorado.

"My health hasn't been the greatest," Pierre said last week, the 11th anniversary of his accident. "But I'd always wanted to do this, to get back sooner."

It wasn't easy for the Rigby rancher. Waking, pulling his body from bed, showering inside his custom bathroom, slipping into his clothes and climbing into his motorized wheelchair can take three hours.

That's three hours from the bed to the Cheerios on the kitchen table or the doorstep to wave his two daughters off to school.

On the morning of Oct. 19, Pierre and his friend Mike made off for the moose hunt at 11:30.

Pierre was driving his 1992 Ford van, a vehicle converted with hand controls and a wheelchair lift.