Commuters in the Toronto area had to endure a four-hour, mid-day closure of the westbound Queen Elizabeth Highway after an SUV driver made a panic stop in the center lane of the roadway to avoid hitting a duck.


As the SUV screeched to a halt, it was struck from behind by one tractor-trailer, which was subsequently rammed from behind by two more trucks. When everything had come to a stop, three tractor-trailers, a straight truck, and the SUV were hopelessly tangled, and all but one of the westbound lanes through the city of Oakville were blocked.

The cleanup took about four hours. The driver of one truck had to be freed from his cab by firefighters. Three persons were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police have not yet released the names of those involved, and haven't yet laid any charges.

There was no word on the fate of the duck.

In Port Orange, Fla, in May, a Brinks armored truck swerved and rolled over while trying to avoid a driver who had stopped on Interstate 95 to let a mother duck and her ducklings cross the road, the Associated Press reports.

The Florida Highway Patrol says the car drove away before authorities arrived at the scene. The people inside the armored truck received minor injuries that did not require hospitalization.

FHP says the mother duck was killed, but her ducklings survived.