4 hours Ago By The Telegraph
Credit: X via @wking__ A runaway kangaroo named Sheila caused a car crash and shut down a motorway before being tranquilised by its owner in the US state of Alabama on Tuesday. Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) responded to reports of a kangaroo spotted hopping along the side of Interstate 85 in Macon county, Alabama, and shut down the entire motorway until they could apprehend the animal. “ALEA Investigates Crash Involving a Kangaroo – That’s a headline you don’t hear often,” ALEA wrote in a post on its Facebook page.
Sheila’s owner, Patrick Starr, told AP that the animal had escaped from her enclosure on his farm, where he kept her as his personal pet. The kangaroo caused a two-vehicle crash, but none of the humans and animals involved were injured, local media reported. Andre Brunson, Macon county’s sheriff, said he “didn’t believe it” when he received the call about the incident.
Recording the pursuit on Facebook live, he said: “When somebody said there was a kangaroo of course I didn’t believe it, and nobody believed it. But I’m looking at him. “A kangaroo in Tuskegee, Alabama, Macon county.
We see a little bit of everything here.” Footage filmed by a driver showed the kangaroo hopping across the motorway before escaping into a line of trees and onto a hill. ALEA said it found the marsupial with the help of Mr Starr, who shot her twice with tranquilliser darts and waited for her to calm down before putting her into his car.
“She’s back home safe. She’s up. She’s not sedated anymore.
She’s eating. She’s drinking. She’s not injured,” Mr Starr told AP.
“She’s a sweet pet. I’m glad she’s back home, and I’m glad everybody slowed down a little bit.” Mr Starr said Sheila was treated by staff at Auburn University’s college of veterinary medicine.
The incident caused traffic delays of over 30 minutes – and bemused commuters. “That is insane, that is incredible. Where would we find a kangaroo in Alabama?” Connie Clanton told ABC.
“I thought there may have been a wreck, but no, there was a wreck that was caused by a kangaroo. “I would never have guessed in a million years that [it] had been a kangaroo. I’m hoppin’ mad.
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