Police Think Driver Deliberately Ran Over Gaggle of Geese

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Clinton Township police are searching for the motorist responsible for barreling through a gaggle of geese with a sport utility vehicle as the birds tried to cross Gratiot Avenue at Wellington Crescent during rush hour Thursday.

The driver didn’t stop, and may have deliberately hit the geese, killing three of them, injuring another so severely it had to be euthanized and hurting at least a couple more, police said.

About 20 geese were in the path of the Honda Pilot about 4:45 p.m., and the driver “accelerated and just ran right over them,” Police Capt. Richard Maierle told the Detroit Free Press.

Witness Lynn Anderson, of Clinton Township, described a horrific scene to the Free Press. She was two car lengths away from the driver.

“The car hit the gas and plowed through the pack. I’m seeing feathers, carnage,” Anderson said. “It was tragic. All were lying, suffering. The poor little things (the rest of the large gaggle that crossed the road) were all shook up. We all were, too.”

Rescue efforts are under way to save two wounded geese in water near the crash scene, but a special net may be needed to bring them to shore, Jeff Randazzo, the chief officer of the Macomb County Animal Control office, told the Free Press.

A large gaggle of about 40 geese domestic geese have been congregating in the area near the Clinton River for some time. About 10 of them have been relocated to a farm by a rescue group working with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and more will follow.

Police hope video footage from traffic cameras will help them track down the driver. Witnesses weren’t able to provide license numbers or information beyond the vehicle’s make, model, vintage and color.

One witness tried to chase down the motorist, who was reportedly “driving like a maniac,” but the witness lost track of the driver, Maierle said.

Anyone with information about the incident with the geese is asked to call township police at (586) 493-7840.

WJBK-TV’s Erika Ericson tweeted images of the geese from the scene.