CROCKETT COUNTY, Tenn. — Crockett County paramedics had an unusually tragic turn of events over the weekend when they ran over a bald eagle.
The paramedics were responding to an emergency when they saw the bird sitting in the middle of the road, reported WBBJTV.
“It was having dinner I guess you could say. They tried to avoid it but these ambulances are so top heavy, there’s no way to try and avoid an animal,” Crockett County EMS Direction John Copeland said.
The paramedics called for assistance after striking the national symbol head-on.
“They said ‘you’re not going to believe this’ But I said well go ahead and he said ‘we think we just hit a bald eagle’,” Copeland said.
Officials contacted the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and naturalists to deal with the bird.
“The eagle had slowed down enough where it was tired. The TWRA guys caught up with it and were able to catch it with their hands and leather gloves,” Copeland said.
The eagle appeared to sustain minor injuries and was taken to be rehabilitated at a state park, but did not survive, officials said.
“He seemed like he was fine,” Reelfoot Lake State Park Interpretive Naturalist Tel Glenn said. “I really thought we were going to take him to Reelfoot and rehab him for a few weeks and then release him on Memorial Day.”
The paramedics, according to Copeland, were even more devastated when they learned the bird didn’t survive.
“Our guys are pretty tore up about it. It’s not something you set out to do, it’s just a freak accident,” Copeland said.