A motorist who stopped to help a turtle cross a Florida highway inadvertently caused a multi-vehicle pileup on Tuesday, authorities said.
A dashboard camera video from a semi-truck shared by the Walton County Sheriffs Office shows the pileup on U.S. Route 331 Tuesday morning.
A motorists decision to stop and help the turtle “caused a chain reaction affecting multiple vehicles including a large semi, which SURPRISE, doesnt exactly stop on a dime,” the sheriffs office said.
There were no serious injuries in the accident, authorities said.
“We dont advise causing a road obstruction because of a reptilian obstruction,” the sheriffs office said. “When you come across this predicament in the future and find yourself asking, to swerve or not to swerve or to stop and protect we hope the answer will now be an obvious one.”
The sheriffs office added that the turtle survived the ordeal, “and is now living happily ever after in a pond where he will (hopefully) spend the rest of his days avoiding pavement of any kind.”
