PORT ORANGE, Fla. — Crazy things happen on Interstate 95 in Florida, where it isn’t unusual for rocks and other debris to crash through a windshield and injure a driver or passenger — but a turtle?
That’s what happened to a 71-year-old woman who was riding with her daughter on I-95 in Volusia County near Port Orange in the Daytona Beach area when a turtle smashed through the windshield of their car and hit her in the head on Wednesday.
The stunned woman bled a lot from a gashed forehead but will be OK — and have a story she and her daughter can amaze people with for the rest of their lives.
The daughter, who didn’t realize at first what it was, pulled over and got help from another driver. According to a 911 recording, both were surprised by what they found, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
“There is a turtle in there,” the man can be heard saying.
“A turtle!” the daughter exclaimed. “An actual turtle?”
The gash drew a lot of blood, as facial cuts will do. But the woman wasn’t seriously hurt.
The turtle was likely crossing the interstate and got knocked into the air by another vehicle.
“I swear to God this lady has the worst luck of anything,” the daughter told the 911 operator as she tended to her injured mother.
The turtle, on the other hand, had the best luck of anything — it just had a few scratches on its shell and was released back into some nearby woods, Port Orange police officer Andre Fleming said.