Red-tailed hawk that got wedged in SUV's grill is released back into the wild

By KATU.com Staff Published: Apr 6, 2009 at 5:09 PM PDT
Red-tailed hawk that got wedged in SUV's grill is released back into the wild
Oregon State Police Trooper Mike Hanson releases the red-tailed hawk. (Photo courtesy of Marilyn Stinnett, Editor of the Audubon Society of Portland’s newsletter, The Warbler).

CANBY, Ore. - A red-tailed hawk that survived a head-on collision with an SUV was released back into the wild this weekend.

Early last month, the hawk crashed through the grill of a Ford Expedition that was headed north on Interstate 5 near Canby.  The bird ended up wedged near the radiator.

Oregon State Police Trooper Mike Hanson helped dislodge the hawk and he then took the bird to the Audubon Society of Portland's Wildlife Care Center.  Fortunately, none of the bird's bones were broken.

Hanson was given the honor of releasing the bird on Sunday.