Bald Eagle Hit By Car Rescued

A symbol of freedom is now free itself after being rescued in Bowring, Oklahoma.

Elaine Gilliand says a large bird flew out of the brush on the side of the road and crashed into her car in Sunday night.

"We hit what we thought was a buzzard," Gilliand said.

She and her husband kept driving until they pulled onto their street. That's when another car driven by Julie Evans noticed something stuck in their grill.

"When they turned the corner, the eagle lifted his head up and kind of looked at us like 'hey can you help me out here?'", said Evans. "We were flagging them down, trying to get them to stop."

"They said 'you have a bald eagle in your grill,' so we got out and looked and definitely it was," Gilliand said.

It only took a few seconds to free the bird's foot.

Evans and her family then wrapped the eagle in a blanket and immediately drove it to the Wild Heart Ranch. When it arrived, the director said the bird's injuries appeared minor since only some skin got shaved off the tip of its wing.

"We were able to get that closed," said Annette King, director of Wild Heart Ranch. "We've got it stabilized, and time will tell if he flies again."

King said a vet from the Tulsa Zoo is helping look after the eagle, which they're all now calling "Scoop."

"I mean, not too many eagles are used as scoops on a car," King said.

The Gilliands said they were relieved when they found out the eagle is expected to be just fine.

"Yeah, because we were worried," Gilliand said. "You don't want to harm a bald eagle."