A moose was struck and killed after wandering onto I-684 near Exit 6-A, causing a chain reaction crash Monday night, police say.

According to officials, at around 7:45 p.m., a Connecticut man hit the animal in the far right lane while driving north. Then, the moose hit or was hit by eight other vehicles.

The impact from the half-ton female moose caused a nine-car pileup, but police say only one person suffered minor injuries. Fire officials say the drivers should consider themselves lucky, because 90 percent of the time a collision with a moose results in death.

The northbound interstate was closed for more than an hour while the animal?s bones were cleared out.

Folliowing the accident, the state issued a "moose alert? for northern Westchester, urging drivers to watch out for the animals on local roads.

Goldens Bridge Fire Chief Rob Melillo was shocked by the accident.

?I've been a member of this fire department for 35 years, and I have never heard of such a thing," he says. ?We've heard about the dangers of deer and bears, but now it's the moose!?

According to the state Deparmtent of Environmental Conservation, the moose was most likely in heat and wandered onto the road looking for a mate.

The DEC had taken the moose's head to a lab in Albany in order to establish whether the animal suffered brain damage that caused it to wander into oncoming traffic.