Death on the Highway: Morrissey Johnson, Newfoundland Folk Hero

Morrissey Johnson was at different times, a master mariner, a sealing captain, and a member of Parliament.  He died on July 14, 2003 at age 70, when a car in which he was a passenger collided with a moose in rural Newfoundland.

Captain Johnson was well known for his strong association with and support of the Newfoundland sealing industry.  He was the father of ten children.  J.M. Sullivan, in his Newfoundland Portfolio: A History in Portraits, describes the motor vehicle accident which claimed Captain Johnson's life:

Capt. Johnson's friend, businessman Austin Barry, was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident.  The roads were clear and dry when the accident happened, around 10 PM near Lewisporte Junction. It was the second fatal moose/vehicle accident in 48 hours.  Mr. Barry was badly hurt. 

Morrissey Johnson's friend John Lundrigan called him a "true Newfoundland folk hero".  It always struck me as tragically ironic that one of Newfoundland's last great hunters of large mammals - seals - was himself killed by one - a moose.