Woman tried in vain to save injured opossom

Page Jones made a selfless stop early on Wednesday morning when she pulled over to help an opossum that was hit by a car on the Westpark Tollway near Houston, Texas. Cameras along the Tollway filmed Jones frantically fanning the animal with a cloth bag she had with her. "It lifted its head up and it looked at the car," Jones said.



"And I was just like, 'I've got to stop.' I know I must've looked crazy to the people coming up the Tollway." For 10 minutes she tried to keep it cool while waiting for help. Then Deputy Constable Aponte and Vernon Phillips with the Tollroad Authority pulled up. "The traffic is really scary - it's kind of nerve-racking," said Capt. Terry Allbritton with the Harris County Precinct 5 Constable's Office.



"We are concerned about the animal; we're also concerned about the citizen that's out there trying to help the animal." "We got the little guy into a sack and I was just like, 'Okay I'm going to take my bag of opossum to the Wildlife Center," said Jones. Jones quickly hugged both of the men who helped her, then rushed to the Wildlife Center of Texas, where she also volunteers.


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Unfortunately, the opossum didn't make it. But Jones would stop again if she saw a wounded animal on the side of the road. "It's kind of first instinct," Jones said. "You don't want it to suffer; you don't want it to die." Albrittion stressed that it's dangerous to stand alongside any roadway. If you find yourself stopping to help a wounded animal, let authorities know first so they can help keep you safe, too.