An elderly man was struck and killed while trying to save a turtle on a busy Florida highway over the weekend, authorities said.
The man, identified only as an 87-year-old from Vermont, was trying to save a turtle from Interstate 95 in Indian River County, Florida, on July 6, according to a release from the Florida Highway Patrol.
The man was crossing I-95 southbound north of Sebastian Boulevard around 4:20 p.m. local time on July 6, FHP said.
The driver of a black Mazda SUV slowed to allow the man to pass, but another driver in a white Dodge pickup failed to stop in time and collided with the Mazda, officials said.
The Mazda veered off the road and crashed into a fence, while the Dodge truck struck the man. He succumbed to his injuries on scene, FHP said.
The turtle did not survive, Jim Beauford, the chief of public affairs for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, confirmed.
The drivers of the Mazda and Dodge — a 44-year-old female and 53-year-old male, respectively — as well as a passenger in the Mazda were all uninjured in the incident, authorities said.
