Apparently they do happen from time to time, Melissa. But when one does, they sometimes make the news. They're roughly the size of a small Tyrannosaurus Rex.

When tractor-trailer driver Jim Caldwell headed down Highway 107 through Washington County, TN Tuesday, he got the surprise of a lifetime.

"It sounded like a dead body hit the window," Caldwell said from his North Carolina home.

Around eight o'clock Tuesday morning, a wild turkey flew into Caldwell's windshield, breaking both panes of glass and nearly scaring him to death, but this was not your average wild turkey. It weighed an estimated 45 pounds. Luckily, the driver did not suffer any injuries.

"29 years of driving, that's the first time I've ever had anything like that happen," Caldwell said.

Deputy Eric Stanton thought he'd seen everything during his last 13 years on the job, but that was before the massive turkey decided to play chicken with the tractor-trailer.

"The thing that was most surprising to me was the size of the turkey," Stanton said. "It was the biggest turkey I've seen in my life and I've seen a lot of turkey. It was huge."

It will soon be part of one huge dinner. Since the turkey died on impact, Frank Coffie, who lives just down the road, helped skin and clean the animal.

"It's the biggest turkey, wild turkey I've ever seen," Coffie said. "It's cleaned up and ready to eat."

Don Firth