That Time We Hit a Turkey...

I got us all packed up to head home to Clarksville for Easter and we hit the road a little before 5p. (Which was a record for us!!) We had the Pilot loaded down with all 4 of us, Bonnie and our stuff for the weekend. Traffic was heavy and we made it just outside of Memphis and were in Eads/Fayette County when...WE HIT A TURKEY going 80+ mph on the Interstate! Just let that soak in for a minute...a wild turkey flew onto the interstate and hit our car...in the same car that hit a deer on the interstate 2 Thanksgivings ago! Crazy, right? Only us! We are so thankful that everyone escaped with only a few scratches, because it could have been so much worse. Here's how it happened...

Russ was driving, the kids were content watching "Finding Nemo" in the backseat and I was content in the front, when Russ yelled out ("Holy crap!", "Oh My God!"...something to that affect) that caused me to look up. I saw 2 huge turkeys fly from the shoulder of the interstate in front of us. We were surrounded on all sides by cars, so Russ couldn't swerve to miss them. I covered my head and ducked to the right because I knew we were going to hit it.

After we hit it, all I remember yelling was "Get to the side of the road!" over and over. And somehow, Russ managed to hang onto the car and get over without collecting any of the cars around us...all without a front windshield. When we got over, I looked at myself (covered in blood and glass), glanced back at the kids who seemed ok and I looked up at the windshield that was in pieces. I was yelling to call 911 and Russ was yelling for me to - Ha! I am glad I did because it kept me occupied...Russ was the one that was really focusing on our kids. He said later that there is nothing more terrifying than looking in your backseat and seeing your kids covered in blood...luckily it was mostly the turkeys!

While I was on the phone was 911, Russ also discovered that the turkey was IN THE CAR! We had no idea that it had entered the car!! Luckily, it was dead and in the backseat. Russ grabbed a blanket from the trunk an pulled it out of the car onto the side of the road. Crazy!

I was on the phone with 911 when a state trooper saw us on the side of the road and stopped before 911 had dispatched anyone. I was unsure whether or not we needed an ambulance, but the state trooper took one look in out backseat, saw the kids and said to send one. It wasn't until I got off the phone that I was really able to survey the damage...our windshield was smashed in. The turkey came into our car right where my head was. And my car looked like a crime scene...there was blood, tiny shards of glass, turkey guts and feathers everywhere. Tyler and I were hit the worst with glass and blood because of the angle that it entered the car.

Yep, I was sitting right behind that hole!

View from the inside.

The giant blood splatter on the ceiling of my car...we
think the turkey might have hit there upon entry.

The turkey remains that Russ pulled out of the car...It was missing it's head and a wing.
One of our paramedics looked everywhere for the head, but couldn't find it.
It was definitely a female though, because it didn't have the big feathers.

Feathers everywhere on the side of the road!

Amazingly, the kids were being really, really good. There was no crying and Nemo was still playing, so they were watching that. And our sweet state trooper brought out crayons and coloring books to pass the time while we waited. Tyler almost started freaking out when he saw all the blood and wanted it off, but I told Russ to wait for the ambulance because of all the glass. Russ covered him up with a blanket so that all he could see was his arms. He did so good being still and waiting. They both did.

Tyler covered with blood. Check out all the glass on the seat, too.
The turkey was in the floorboard right below his feet.

Caroline was happy coloring!

When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics assessed the kids and said it was ok to get them out and into the back of their truck to be cleaned up. Tyler was very eager to go inside of an ambulance and did great letting a stranger clean him up.  Caroline was terrified and clung to me for dear life. But once her paramedic brought out a teddy bear, she warmed up. They got the big stuff off the kids and said for us all to take showers/baths when we got home because these tiny, minute shards were impossible for them to get out.

We waited for what seemed like forever in the ambulance for Uncle Brian to pick us up. I continued to wrangle the kids in the ambulance (which is easier said than done). Tyler was asked his paramedic 1 zillion questions about all the things inside and they both were trying to climb on and touch everything. It was quite a scene. Russ was outside trying to get the kids carseats cleaned up to go into Uncle Brian's truck. Somehow we managed to fit all 5 of us and Bonnie in Uncle Brian's truck with some of out luggage and the rest in the back bed! Crazy!

Tyler checking out the scene from inside the ambulance.

The only time Tyler cried and got upset was when he asked if we were going to go on to Granna's house around we finished getting cleaned in the ambulance. When I told him no, he lost it. He could not understand why we couldn't keep going in our car (that was covered in blood and without a windshield.) To calm him down, I told him we would go back home, get cleaned up and think about going to Granna's in Daddy's truck tomorrow.

Once we got home, we got the kids cleaned up and in bed. Then we got ourselves clean...I had about 1 million little tiny scratches all over my arms, legs and down my shirt (since I was wearing a button-up) from the glass. I got the brunt of the damage and it was still so minor in the grand scheme. Then we had to clean and wash EVERYTHING...our clothes, carseats, the outside of all of our bags, inside of my purse and everything in it. I was even picking glass out of our kids Easter baskets. It was crazy!! And gross! We decided to stay in Memphis for Easter, which Tyler was upset about, but it was impossible to transport all of us, Bonnie and our stuff in the front of Russ' truck.

There are so many things that we have reflected on, now that it is over... the first being thank goodness we are all ok. It could have been so much worse. What if I hadn't ducked and it had hit me? Or landed in Tyler's lap? How did Russ not lose control of the car and not hit any other cars? How did we not get glass in our eyes when the windshield shattered? What if the impact hadn't killed the turkey and he was still alive in our backseat (sounds like a funny movie scene, but that could have been disaster!) What if our airbags had deployed? So many things could have made this experience so much worse. I am so grateful that we were surrounded by the great first responders, too. Our state trooper was a dream and both paramedics were kind, funny and great with our kids. We have even more to be thankful for this Easter. But I am starting to think this car has a death wish...:)

The next morning, Tyler climbed in bed with us around 6:30a. I asked him if he remembered what happened last night and he shook his head and said, "2 eagles hit our car and there was blood and glass everywhere!!" He went on and on about the police car and the ambulance and how Uncle Brian was late picking us up. I so wish I could have recorded it! I did record this recount a little later that morning...not quite as funny as the first story and I had to do a lot of prompting, but still pretty cute! (He also is determined to take off his shirt for the camera...ha!)