Originally Posted by jpmcdonough

My own "horror" story is not all that bad but it's different.

I elected to try traveling one week from DFW to my client's office in Montpelier, VT, via Bradley International (BDL) near Hartford, CT. The closest airport to Montpelier is Burlington, a 30 or 45 minute drive, but you have to connect somewhere which lends an air of uncertainty. BDL is a 3 hour drive but it's also served non-stop from DFW, so it's more predictable.

This worked, although I could have used a little more daylight driving to Vermont. (This was on Easter Sunday). The last hour was pretty dark, and I-89 is a nice picturesque road in daylight but hard to drive in the dark.

On my return trip, I was about 30 minutes south of Montpelier on I-89, driving in light rain. I spotted a wild turkey in a field up ahead, thought how cool is that, had never seen one before. But, it was raining, and the road is curvy, so I told myself, watch the road, not the turkey.

A few seconds later, the turkey flew into the front of my rental. There was a huge bang, feathers flying. I didn't know what to think. I pulled over at a rest stop, not far away, and inspected the car. There was a dent about the size of a basketball in the hood. The car ran fine. I called Hertz to report the accident, and they asked if I was near a major city. Well, no, I'm in Vermont, there are no major cities! I elected to continue to BDL.

Please note, I had never seen a wild turkey before and did not know they could fly. I have since learned that they can fly, but not very high (duh) or very far. This one probably was crossing the road to look for love, and instead got a Nissan Versa at 65 mph.

When I returned the car to Hertz, of course they asked what happened. I told them about the turkey, and it turned out I was the second renter that day to have hit a turkey.

I decline all coverages, so am still sorting it out with my auto carrier.

I had a turkey sandwich in the bar at BDL.