Runaway emu blocks traffic on Florida bridge

July 17 (UPI) -- Drivers were stuck on a Florida bridge for nearly an hour when a loose emu wandered into the roadway and blocked traffic.

Travelers on Florida Route 19's Howey Bridge in Tavares said traffic was backed up Sunday afternoon when the large Australian bird wandered into the road and refused to leave.

"My husband said something was going on in the road and this vehicle went around and he was, like, 'There's something on the road, I think it's a llama,' and I was, like 'Oh my gosh, it's an emu,'" witness Kandy Cartier told WKMG-TV.

"I didn't even think about it, I was, like, 'I have to get this little guy off the road.' As it's happening I'm like, 'Only in Florida would this happen, I have to tape this -- no one is going to believe me,'" she said.

Cartier filmed video as she and another woman got out of their cars and approached the bird.

"It had a sock on its head and it had a lease on it. She went to pull the sock off and I was, like, 'No, no, no.' It started getting up so I was trying to like shoo it off the bridge. I mean, we were dead in the middle of the bridge," Cartier said.

Cartier said she tried to guide the emu off the road, but it kept running back into lanes of traffic.

Tavares police and Lake County Animal Control soon arrived and took the bird into custody. The emu was returned to its owner, officials said.