When a bald eagle flew into Scott Burke’s truck, he kept his cool and was able to stop his rig safely despite a pushed-in windshield and shattered safety glass. What’s even more impressive though is that the eagle that hit the 80,000-pound truck has lived to tell the tale!
Burke is a 25-year veteran trucker who drives for SRS National Trucking. On January 21st, he was headed southbound on I-95 in Connecticut when he had a run-in with a bald eagle. The bird was on the roadway only briefly before the incident. When the truck came close, Burke’s dashcam captured footage of the bird taking flight and smashing into the truck’s windshield.
The truck was fully loaded and travelling at around 50 mph when the incident occurred. The windshield was pushed in and the safety glass shattered. But Burke handled his truck expertly and brought it to a safe stop on the side of the road within about 3,000 feet.
Once the tractor-trailer came to a stop, Burke stepped out to check on the bird. To his surprise, the bird was still alive and had hopped under the truck.
A local group that takes care of birds of prey, A Place Called Hope, took in the eagle. Burke had called the police and the police reached out to the group.
According to the Facebook page for A Place Called Hope, the eagle had recovered sufficiently that the group tried releasing her back into the wild on Wednesday. After a brief foray back with her mate, it was determined that the bird needed more time to heal in the sanctuary before again taking to the skies.
You can see more detail from A Place Called Hope below!
Source: freightwaves, aplacecalledhope, facebook
“What’s even more impressive though is that the eagle that hit the 80,000-pound truck has lived to tell the tale!”
It’s nice to know the eagle is conscious and talking..
Shoot at first I thought it hit a slow PRIME truck.. even a sparrow would live through that.. I’m glad the EAGLE. Is good
I hit a big hawk in pa on 80 like that it took off from the median and cliped my driverside mirror i dont know if it lived or not the mirrors glass didnt live though
And, that big-trucks always weigh 80,000 pounds.
Hell no they don’t.
If your driving in an area where you know these large raptors exit, keep a close eye out, as these eagles, (& hawks), can feast on road kill or roadside animals, & get so full & heavy, they have a tough time getting airborne, (especially if their bringing food back to the nest.
In Southern Utah, the SW Wildlife Foundation is regularly rehabbing these amazing creatures from similar accidents. Drive safe.
What a nice story😁 We need more of these, heck the world 🌎 needs more of “this” type of reporting.