Tall tale? Woman calls 911 to report collision with giraffe
By Noah Haglund
Updated 11:42 p.m., October 18, 2007
The 911 dispatcher sounded incredulous.
A giraffe? Yes, the woman caller insisted.
The animal she sideswiped in her car while driving on S.C. Highway 174 near the Dahoo Bridge Thursday morning was a giraffe.
"I do know one thing: it was bigger than a horse," she told the operator. "I know what a deer looks like. I know what a horse looks like."
Audio clip
911 call received Oct 18th from a driver claiming to have hit a giraffe.
There were two of them in the road, she said. She couldn't avoid hitting one of them. It damaged her passenger-side mirror.
Were they injured? The caller wasn't sure. They ran away.
She didn't file a police report.
Charleston County sheriff's spokesman Maj. John Clark said authorities didn't have much to go on other than her say-so.
"It may have been a large deer," Clark said. "She didn't want to file a report."
The tallest mammal, adult male giraffes can reach up to 18 feet tall and 3,000 pounds. The creatures with leopard-like spots are native to Africa.
911 Giraffe Call
To listen to an audio file of the 911 giraffe call, click here.
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proud2bme (anonymous) says...
This is funny but I have to say, I know how she feels. One time I had to call the police from my cell phone while driving down the road because a bunch of turkeys were in the road and people were swerving to keep from hitting them. There must of been about 20 of them. Although, that call probably doesn't sound as far fetched as giraffes, the dispatcher that took my call asked me over and over again if I was sure these were turkeys. I replied with "well, they aren't ducks!"
October 19, 2007 at 5:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
fockerout (anonymous) says...
What do all you know about geraffs...i see them all the time up and down on Dorchester Rd!!!!!!
October 19, 2007 at 4:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RTC (anonymous) says...
LOL@fockerout. I think you must be nibbling on the magic mushrooms, my friend.
October 19, 2007 at 5:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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