While a Florida man may have had good intentions, his effort to save a giant turtle on a Florida highway resulted in a multi-crash, according to local officials.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office shared in a press release that the crash happened Tuesday at around 6:45 a.m. on Highway 331.
The incident was caught on video by the dash camera of an 18-wheeler, which was driving down the four-lane highway when it all of a sudden came upon several cars slowing down.
The footage shows the truck unable to stop in time, with the driver instead deciding to veer off the side of the road before another car collided with it, causing it to veer back into several cars, including the truck of the man attempting to save the turtle.
The sheriff’s office shared that nobody was seriously injured in the crash, though several drivers did suffer minor injuries and significant damage to their vehicles.
The video shows the man who was trying to be a hero getting out of his truck that he had parked in the first lane, something law enforcement advises against doing.
According to the sheriff’s office, the man told deputies he was trying to save the turtle but, instead, ended up causing what they called “a mess.”
Both the northbound and southbound lanes of traffic were blocked by the accident, as the truck was stuck “across the median in both lanes,” the sheriff’s office noted.
Law enforcement reported not believing the man’s story at first, but then they were able to see he was telling the truth thanks to the video from the 18-wheeler’s dash cam.
“The semi driver ended up telling me he had dash cam video, and I said, ‘Hey can we watch it?’ Sure enough, the turtle was there. That turtle looked like he had to be 4-5 feet in diameter, and I was like, ‘Oh my God!’” Deputy Gunn told ABC11.
For those worried about the turtle, the sheriff’s office did note that the animal “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.”
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