Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Wild Turkey Breaks Bus Window

Some Interesting News...




This story goes into the "Not surprising" file:

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A school bus driver suffered cuts Tuesday when a wild turkey crashed through the windshield of her bus on Interstate 84.

The bus was carrying 36 fifth-graders and four adults on a field trip from Windham Middle School to Indian Rock in Meriden when a flock of turkeys flew into the bus' path, police and school officials said.

One bird went through the windshield, police said...

Source: Wild Turkey Injures School Bus Driver


The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CT DEP) says their turkey toms can weigh 15 to 25 pounds and turkey hens can weigh 8 to 12 pounds.

The CT DEP also gives this bit of general information about their local turkey species:
In the United States, five subspecies of wild turkey inhabit 49 states except Alaska. The subspecies which exists in Connecticut, Meleagris gallopavo silvestris, ranges from southern Maine to northern Florida, west to eastern Texas and north to North Dakota.


Given the size of the bird and the inertia of a bus traveling 55 mph or more, it's not really a surprise the window broke. The driver suffered cuts from the glass but will be all right, apparently. There were no other injuries, though some of the kids had glass in their hair.

I haven't yet had a dangerous road experience with a turkey, but I've had a close call with a turkey buzzard that flew up from a roadkill morsel toward my windshield. They're big birds, but not nearly as large as a turkey tom.

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