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Family Headed To O'Hare Has Turkey of a Trip: PHOTOS

By DNAinfo Staff | March 29, 2017 12:11pm | Updated on March 29, 2017 12:13pm

CHICAGO — A family traveling through Indiana to O'Hare Airport suffered cuts when a wild turkey struck their car.

The photos of the incident, taken by Capt. Michael Kellems of the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office, show the 30-pound bird stuck in the windshield of the car rented by John Tarabocchia of Emerson, N.J.

“I thought he was gonna clear the roof, but he didn’t. He went straight through the windshield,” Tarabocchia told the Indianapolis Star.

The driver said he and his family were driving along U.S. 20 near Rolling Prarie headed to O'Hare from the University of Notre Dame where his high school daughter was participating in an academic program.

The passengers were treated for minor cuts, the Star reported. The bird was killed, though a passerby did ask to take the creature home, according to Kellems.

According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the number of wild turkeys in that state has been growing, with a range now of one to six birds per square mile with some estimates as high as 25 birds per square mile.

The birds are in motion in late winter and early spring.

According to the department's web site, flocks divide into smaller groups with the hens in one flock, young males in another and old gobblers in a different group.

Each morning, the young males call to and court as many hens as they can lure away from.

"These displays of grand feathers, courtship movement and occasional lusty fights are performed from February through May," the department says.