A motorist who got out of her car to help a family of ducks across the interstate in Rock County was hit by a car and thrown 60 feet.
Sheila Bajus of Johnsburg, Illinois was trying to guide the mother duck and duckling across Interstate 90/39 yesterday near the Highway 26 overpass.
Kathryn Hess of Edgerton also pulled over to help the ducks. Hess says before she could get out of her car, she saw the duck Samaritan flying through the air.
The front fender and passenger-side mirror of an oncoming car had clipped Bajus, flipping her up onto the windshield. The impact cracked the windshield and tossed Bajus 60 feet before she landed on her stomach in a patch of thistles in the median.
Fortunately, the 40-year-old woman suffered only a leg injury and was treated and released from Mercy Hospital in Janesville.
Unfortunately, at least four of the ducklings were killed. No citations were issued.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
