A wild turkey and a semi truck driver are both lucky to be okay after the bird shattered the truck’s windshield and lived to tell the tale.
The incident happened on Wednesday, February 27, on I-75 in Sarasota County, Florida, according to a report from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Truck driver Nick Gerken, 66, was traveling southbound on the interstate at 65 m.p.h. when a wild turkey suddenly collided with his windshield, shattering the glass on the passenger side.
Since he was only five miles from his company’s shop, Gerken decided to drive back, thinking that the bird must have flown out after the crash.
When Gerken arrived, he was in for a surprise. “Lo and behold I’m looking around and I see this pair of feet and legs and big tail sticking out of the nylon netting in the storage area under the bunk. Turns out it was a wild turkey,” he said.
After noting that the turkey was alive, Gerken left the doors of his truck open, hoping that the bird would fly away. When it didn’t, a worker from the shop came into help remove it. Gerken said that he believes the bird had a hurt wing, but he thinks that the animal will be okay.
Gerken has driven trucks for more than 20 years and says that he has hit hawks, eagles, and turtles, but never a turkey.
Check out the damage that the turkey did to Gerken’s semi truck in the video below.