Koala rescued after a 5-car pileup on the Australian highway

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – A koala has been rescued after causing five cars to accumulate while attempting to cross a six-lane highway in South Australia.

Police said the crash in heavy traffic on Monday morning in the city of Adelaide caused some injuries, but no one needed an ambulance.

The animal’s rescuer said she got out of her car to investigate the cause of the accumulation. Nadia Tugwell, coat in hand, teamed up with a stranger who was holding a blanket in an attempt to catch the marsupial. A concrete highway separator had blocked the koala’s crossing.

“The koala has not been damaged in any way,” said Tugwell. “It was very active, but very calm.”

Once the koala was in her trunk, Tugwell drove to a gas station to hand the animal over to rescue workers. In the meantime, the koala was able to climb from the trunk into the cabin of her SUV.

‘It decided to come forward, so I said,’ Okay, you stay here. I’m leaving, ” she said.

“It started to be on the wheel for a while: (like) I said, ‘let’s go driving’, and then I started taking pictures,” she added.

Tugwell said she learned from previous experience how to calm koalas by covering their eyes. She lives near a eucalyptus forest outside of Adelaide and has already called zookeepers twice to rescue koalas injured in fights with other koalas.

“I live in the hills, and if you let them do what they want to do and you don’t chase them or something, then they’re fine,” Tugwell said.

The leather trimmings from her luxury car had been scratched by the animal, but Tugwell said the happy ending was more than worth the damage.

The koala was later released into a forest – far from the highway.