Motorist tells 911: ‘I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield’
BRYSON CITY, North Carolina — A western North Carolina motorist escaped injury when a cat’s carcass crashed into the passenger side of her windshield along a highway near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
In a 911 call, the unidentified driver on U.S. Route 74 in Swain County, near Bryson City, told a dispatcher that a bald eagle had dropped the cat. Bryson City is approximately 64 miles southwest of Asheville.
It is not clear whether the feline slipped from the eagle’s claws on Wednesday morning or whether it was abandoned simply because the big bird did not like it.
“You may not believe me, but a bald eagle just dropped a cat through my windshield,” the driver said in disbelief during the recorded 911 call. “It completely shattered my windshield.”
Any reservations about calling such a story were dispelled when the dispatcher calmly replied, “OK. I believe you, honestly,” then laughed.
The driver said another person also saw the cat fall, remarking, “He said, ‘That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.’ I’m like, “Really? »
The dispatcher offered some reassurance, saying, “Oh my God. Let’s see. I’ve heard crazier things.”
“Well, it’s terrifying,” the caller said, to which the dispatcher responded with a more nervous laugh, “Yeah.”
After locating the driver, the dispatcher said she would send the Highway Patrol to make a report. “One more question,” the dispatcher asked. “Is the cat still alive?”
The caller said no, but noted that the cat was on the side of the road and not in his car.
“Okay, I have to ask just to be sure,” the dispatcher said.
