FT. MYERS, Fla. - They were sitting ducks. Literally.
Approximately ten ducklings became stranded in one of the busy middle turn lanes of Colonial Blvd. where it meets US 41 on Wednesday afternoon. They huddled together, separated from their mother duck as she watched helplessly from across the street.
The ducklings faced almost certain death, until Ft. Myers Police Officer Glenn Eppler just happened to drive up.
"This job, you never know what you're going to see," Eppler tells WINK News. "I saw the baby ducks and thought of my daughter. She loves ducks. She's ten and I could hear her in my ear saying, 'get out and save those ducks.'"
So that's what Eppler did. He pulled into the lane to block traffic, turned on his lights, and went to round up the tiny ducklings.
It wasn't as easy as Eppler thought.
"I thought I could just go over and scoop them up. They were huddled together," Eppler said. "But the minute I went for one, they all scattered. It was on after that."
Eppler's dash-cam video was rolling the entire time. It shows Eppler scramble to contain the ducklings, just as an anonymous good samaritan shows up to help. Together, they safely carry or herd the ducklings to the other side of the road and reunite them with their mother duck.
In the rush, Eppler says he didn't get the chance to ask for the good samaritan's name.
"I wish I had," Eppler says. " I'd really like to say thank you very much for helping me out and for helping the ducks out."
Approximately ten ducklings became stranded in one of the busy middle turn lanes of Colonial Blvd. where it meets US 41 on Wednesday afternoon. They huddled together, separated from their mother duck as she watched helplessly from across the street.
The ducklings faced almost certain death, until Ft. Myers Police Officer Glenn Eppler just happened to drive up.
"This job, you never know what you're going to see," Eppler tells WINK News. "I saw the baby ducks and thought of my daughter. She loves ducks. She's ten and I could hear her in my ear saying, 'get out and save those ducks.'"
So that's what Eppler did. He pulled into the lane to block traffic, turned on his lights, and went to round up the tiny ducklings.
It wasn't as easy as Eppler thought.
"I thought I could just go over and scoop them up. They were huddled together," Eppler said. "But the minute I went for one, they all scattered. It was on after that."
Eppler's dash-cam video was rolling the entire time. It shows Eppler scramble to contain the ducklings, just as an anonymous good samaritan shows up to help. Together, they safely carry or herd the ducklings to the other side of the road and reunite them with their mother duck.
In the rush, Eppler says he didn't get the chance to ask for the good samaritan's name.
"I wish I had," Eppler says. " I'd really like to say thank you very much for helping me out and for helping the ducks out."
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