Wild turkey sends Maine motorcyclist to hospital

[March 17, 2009]  BUCKFIELD, Maine (AP) -- Police said a wild turkey is to blame for knocking a 23-year-old man off his motorcycle and breaking his collarbone.

Maine State Trooper Corey Huckins said Jeffrey Russell of Hartford was riding with a friend on Route 117 in Buckfield on Sunday afternoon when a wild turkey flew straight into his chest, knocking him backward off his motorcycle. Huckins said the impact was like "hitting a bowling ball at 45 mph."

Police said Russell was knocked unconscious and flown in a medical helicopter to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

Russell's riding companion was not injured, but the turkey was killed in the accident.

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Information from: Sun-Journal, http://www.sunjournal.com/

[Associated Press]

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