Driver stops in road to help turtle, leading to chain-reaction crash, Florida cops say
A good Samaritan became ensnared in a chain-reaction wreck when he stopped in the middle of a busy Florida highway to help a turtle cross the road, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office in the Panhandle.
Video shows the 34-year-old driver was already out of his pickup when five other drivers began slamming their brakes and an 18-wheeler started bouncing off cars like a giant pinball.
It happened around 7 a.m. on Tuesday, May 16, on U.S. 331 near DeFuniak Springs and the three crashed vehicles included the pickup that stopped to help the turtle, officials said.
The crash ended with the semi-truck swerving across a grass median and straddling two oncoming traffic lanes.
“Residents and visitors alike should marvel at the many species who call Florida home. Just preferably not in the middle of the road,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
“We don’t advise causing an road obstruction because of a reptilian obstruction. This morning’s crash was the result of a motorist stopping on 331 S. to let a turtle cross the highway. A decision that caused a chain reaction affecting multiple vehicles including a large semi, which surprise, doesn’t exactly stop on a dime.”
No one was seriously hurt in the crash, which is being investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol, officials said.
The video, posted on Facebook by the sheriff’s office, had been viewed nearly 30,000 times within 4 hours, and prompted hundreds of reactions and comments.
Many lauded the 36-year-old trucker for expertly dodging his way through the gauntlet without flipping his rig. Some noted the scenario sounded “like an Allstate mayhem commercial.”
Others argued about the good Samaritan’s decision, both for and against. (The driver is from DeFuniak Springs, the Florida Highway Patrol said.)
“I’m about as big an animal lover as there is (more than some people!), but there is no way I’d stop my vehicle in the middle of a major highway and endanger my safety and the property and safety of others for any animal!” G. Anthony Luka wrote on Facebook.
“There are plenty of accidents that don’t involve wildlife, so don’t put the blame on humans wanting to do the right thing. ... It’s an automatic reflex for me when I see an animal in the road,” Laura Gunn Catterton said.
Many commenters wanted to know what happened to the turtle and the sheriff’s office provided the closure they needed.
“The turtle survived and is now living happily ever after in a pond where he will (hopefully) spend the rest of his days avoiding pavement of any kind,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
DeFuniak Springs is about 80 miles northeast of Pensacola.
This story was originally published May 16, 2023 at 12:22 PM with the headline "Driver stops in road to help turtle, leading to chain-reaction crash, Florida cops say."