Tourist from Minnesota who was killed by an elephant in Zambia was an adventurer, family says

MINNETONKA, Minn. (AP) — Family members described an American tourist who was killed in Africa when a bull elephant charged the truck she was riding in as an adventurer. They identified her as 79-year-old Gail Mattson, of Minnetonka, Minnesota. A safari company says she was with other tourists on a game drive in a Zambian national park when the animal charged March 30. The elephant flipped over the vehicle. The attack also injured five others in Kafue National Park. Her son, Blake Vetter, told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis that his mother loved adventure trips to China and other destinations. He says she split her time between the Minneapolis and Phoenix areas.