'It's our nation's symbol,' FHP trooper rescues eagle on Florida Turnpike

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Julio Velez spoke to Channel 9’s Julie Salomone about why he rescued a bald eagle on the side of the Florida Turnpike earlier this week.

The eagle crashed into a windshield and was left stunned on the side of the road, troopers said.

Velez scooped up the eagle and put it in the back of his squad car. Velez did get a few scratches from the eagle’s talons.

“It’s our nation’s symbol. It’s our icon. I saw him there, he did smash into the windshield of the vehicle that was there in the right shoulder,” Velez said.

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The staff at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, a rehabilitation center in Maitland, is now rehabilitating the eagle.

“It didn’t have any broken bones, but does have a lot of muscle soreness and possible minor internal trauma,” said Michael Goldman with the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey.

Goldman said they won’t know until next week if the eagle can be released back into the wild.

Velez said when he rescued the bird, he didn’t think about his scratches once. He said it’s his job to serve and protect.

“We learned that it doesn’t matter what life it is, you need to protect it any way you can,” Velez said.

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