Watch CBS News

Duck, duck...goose! Big bird crashes through windshield

ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. - We hear a fair amount these days about birds and planes colliding...but birds and cars?

A woman from Golden, Colo., says she was driving along Highway 76 in Adams County Wednesday when she saw some birds in the distance trying to take flight. Next thing she knew, one of them - a goose - smashed right through her windshield.

According to CBS Denver, state police said Shannon Jergenson did everything right in that moment of crisis - kept her cool, stayed the course, hands on the wheel.

"The bird came up and just went 'bam,' right into my windshield," Jergenson said. "I turned my head and when I opened my eyes the bird was ... its head just kind of fell over."

After the goose wound up impaled on the steering wheel, Jergenson turned her head to stop glass from hitting her face.

"I could barely see because the windshield was mangled," she told CBS Denver.

She was doing about 50 miles per hour when the goose came crashing in. She managed to pull over, and suffered only a small scratch.

The shattered windshield left behind a fine dusting of glass that took Jergenson several hours to remove.

"I didn't know how much glass was on me until I got home and (saw) all (my hair) was just full of glass," She said. "I took my hair down and could just hear the glass falling," she told the station.

Ferguson said she's thankful there were no drivers right behind her at the moment of impact. Somehow she even made it to work - just a few hours late.

"Freak accident, you know, complete freak accident, and I'm still (shaken) up by it. I have to now talk myself into starting my car now," Jergenson said.

As for how often cars and geese collide, the Colorado State Patrol says they've never seen anything like it.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.