CHP Helps Ducklings Cross Highway

The California Highway Patrol came to the rescue of some wild ducks trying to cross the freeway near San Francisco. The ducks were headed southbound on the center divide of Interstate 880 near Milpitas Saturday when rookie CHP officer Ryan Nelson arrived on the scene. Nine ducklings were with their mother. When fellow CHP officer Lawrence Colon spotted Nelson trying to herd the ducks between speeding cars, he brought traffic on one of the Bay Area’s busiest freeways to a halt. Nelson said drivers rolled their windows down and began to applaud. Nelson led his little parade for a quarter-mile before they reached an exit ramp. Three chicks fell down a drain, but they paddled out and rejoined their siblings on the other side of the wall. About 90 minutes later, Nelson was dispatched to a nearby location where a driver had left his car to help yet another line of ducklings. Now a veteran duck-walker, Nelson stopped his car and climbed over a wall to help. “It’s pretty easy once you learn how to do it,” he said.