Wild turkeys in New Jersey are feeling frisky at this time of year and that’s causing them to get killed.
Over the last few days, two giant turkeys have been killed after getting run over by cars.
In one case, Alexandra Carmel, a pregnant driver with her two year old daughter in the car struck a turkey that had been sitting on the median near the Garden State Plaza Mall in Parasmus, NJ.
Carmel says she was driving about 50 mph and could not switch lanes to avoid hitting the bird.
“You don’t expect animal like this to be in middle of the busy highway,” Carmel said. “The last thing you can think of was ‘Is a turkey going to walk across the road?'”
If she had swerved, she might have caused an accident on the busy highway.
Carmel pulled into her driveway and got out to survey the damage, not realizing the bird was stuck inside her bumper.
We just saw tail and two legs,” Carmel said. “And the rest of the huge bird was inside the car.”
The Taraboczhia family from Emerson, New Jersey had just left Notre Dame where their daughter Riana was just accepted as they traveled west on US 20 in La Porte County when a wild turkey flew into the path of their rental vehicle.
The wild turkey was impaled in the center of the windshield. The 30 pound turkey was killed on impact and fortunately the family only suffered minor cuts from the glass.
Mating season for wild turkeys means that they are often on the move and can be as hazardous as deer.
Hats off to Mr. Tarabocchia. He was able to keep that car under control and pulled off the side of the road without contacting any other cars,” Captain Kellems adds.
John Tarabocchia said if he had veered right or left, he would have lost control of the vehicle.
Definitely the luck of the Irish, and somebody up there looking down on us,”
And in case you were wondering, the 30 pound turkey would have fed, according to our research, 30 people given the ratio is one pound feeds one person.
Photo credit: La Porte Sheriff Department
