Bald eagle collides with truck windshield on Connecticut highway: Video
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (WABC) -- A bald eagle and truck driver avoided a near fatal accident Wednesday when the bird collided with the 18-wheeler on a busy highway in Connecticut, according to police officials.
The female bird was scavenging food along northbound on I-95 near Exit 44 in New Haven when she spotted roadkill and swooped down from a lamppost onto the center lane, officers say, resulting in the blaring horn of an oncoming car that scared her off.
Police say as she flew up to avoid being hit, the bald eagle collided full force with the windshield of the 18-wheeler, shattering it completely.
Scott Burke, the unharmed truck driver, stated that it happened so fast and was one of the scariest things he has encountered in all his 25 years of being a truck driver.
Burke immediately called police after the accident. Authorities say the eagle hung on to the side of the truck cab until a complete stop was made about 1,000 feet later.
In order to avoid any additional collisions, police decided to close down the highway to safely rescue the eagle.
The eagle was rushed off to A Place Called Home, a wildlife rehab center in Connecticut, where it was determined she had no fractures, but did have blood inside of her mouth and trachea. It was also revealed that the bird was shot in the past.
The adult eagle will be released once the rehab center sees her bleeding has subsided.
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