Turtle Crashes Through Windshield Of Vehicle, Strikes Elderly Florida Woman In Head

A Florida woman was left shell-shocked after it crashed through her windshield, striking her elderly mother in the forehead.

The 71-year-old passenger was riding in a car on Florida’s Interstate 95 Wednesday when the turtle smashed through the window of the vehicle and struck her in the forehead, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.

The victim’s daughter, who was trying to process what had flown through her windshield, then pulled over and sought the help of another motorist. Both of them were taken aback to find out that it was actually a turtle, according to a 911 audio recording obtained by the Associated Press (AP).

"There is a turtle in there," the other motorist was overheard saying in the audio. "A turtle!" the daughter exclaimed. "An actual turtle?" the man was heard saying in the recording, according to AP.

"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 elderly victim escaped without significant injuries, but she lost a great deal of blood. She was taken to a hospital and is expected to recover soon.

The tortoise also survived the wild crash with a few scratches on its shell. It was reportedly released back into the nearby woods by the dispatchers, Port Orange officer Andre Fleming told the AP.

The turtle was likely crossing the road when it was knocked over by another vehicle, the impact of which sent it crashing into the woman’s windshield.

In a similar incident in May 2020, a turtle blew through a moving car’s windshield on a Georgia highway. The windshield was left partly smashed by the impact, but the passenger escaped without injuries. The driver said she mistook the tortoise for a brick at first and started to slow down the vehicle. The turtle, which was hanging halfway in and halfway out from the windshield, was alive when dispatchers arrived, but it later died.