Runaway kangaroo temporarily shuts down highway in Alabama

By Karina Tsui, CNN

(CNN) — A runaway kangaroo temporarily shut down a portion of an interstate highway in Alabama on Tuesday as state troopers and the animal’s owner attempted to remove it from harm’s way.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said part of the southbound and northbound lanes of Interstate 85 in Tuskegee, around 40 miles east of Montgomery in central Alabama, were closed after the kangaroo interrupted traffic and caused two vehicles to crash.

The kangaroo was not injured in the crash, the agency said in a Facebook post. It is unclear if any drivers were hurt.

CNN has reached out to ALEA and the Macon County Sheriff’s Office for further details.

Troopers and the animal’s owner were able to recover the animal and the roadway was reopened, law enforcement said in a statement.

“When somebody said there was a kangaroo of course I didn’t believe it, and nobody believed it. But I’m looking at him,” Macon County Sheriff Andre Brunson said in a Facebook live video as the animal was captured.

“We see a little bit of everything here,” he said.

Brunson’s video captured the kangaroo moving slowly on a hill by the highway moments after it was shot with a tranquilizer. It later shows the animal’s owner carrying the kangaroo down from a hill and into a car.

The kangaroo’s name is Sheila, the animal’s owner Patrick Starr, told the Associated Press. Starr’s family runs a pumpkin patch and petting zoo, but Sheila is just a pet, Starr said.

“She’s back home safe. She’s up. She’s not sedated anymore. She’s eating. She’s drinking. She’s not injured,” Starr told the AP.

Sheila was treated by the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, he added.

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