Buzzard causes motorcycle accident
By: Sheri Mohler October 12, 2005
A turkey buzzard flew into the path of an oncoming motorcycle, striking the front of the bike and causing the driver to lose control of the motorcycle, Sunday morning.
Motorcyclist Terry Gesling of Ainsworth was driving south on Hwy 218 when the buzzard, which had been feeding on a deer carcass at the side of the road, collided with his bike near the highway's intersection with county road G36. There were no passengers on the bike and no other vehicles were involved in the accident.
Iowa State Trooper Steve Lawrence said that although initial reports indicated Gesling has lost consciousness, he was speaking to the Ainsworth First Responders when Lawrence arrived on the scene. Gesling was transported via Washington ambulance to University of Iowa Hospitals and has since been released.
"I spoke to [Gesling] yesterday," Lawrence said. "He is stiff and sore, but seems to being doing okay."
Lawrence searched for the turkey buzzard at the scene, but a witness said that immediately after the accident, the bird had merely shaken its head and flown away, apparently uninjured.