Residents of a Largo, Florida neighborhood have become accustomed to seeing a family of ducks waddle across yards and down the street.
“The mom and all her babies came through here. I was talking to them. I was sitting in that chair. I was talking to the ducks, and she’s talking back at me. Quack, quack, quacking back at me,” Steven Sorensen told WFLA. “I mean, there’s a lot of people out here that like to feed the ducks and seeing the wildlife.”
On Sunday residents watched 11 ducks as they played in a puddle in the middle of the street. According to reports, witnesses saw James Clairmont slow down for a speed bump then accelerate towards the ducks. People yelled at him to stop, but he continued and fled to his home a block away from the scene of the crime.
“It was very upsetting,” Lily Simmons, a witness, said. “Especially, to the children because they just totally freaked out.”
James Clairmont is accused of intentionally running over the ducks.
“I come out of the driveway when I see the ducks squirming in the road and blood everywhere, and I just start freaking out,” Sharee Young said. “I drop everything and run towards them.”
“His head was cracked wide open. I picked him up and I held his head so it would at least help stop the bleeding. I looked up to my dad and said, ‘I don’t know what to do. What do I do with this? I don’t know what to do.’”
Two ducklings died immediately and one was taken to a vet.
Unfortunately, two of the ducklings died and one was taken to an emergency vet where it was treated for broken bones.
He was questioned several hours later. Clairmont denied hitting the ducks and couldn’t explain the blood and duck feathers that remained on his vehicle’s wheels. According to reports, he slurred his speech and smelled of alcohol.
Clairmont was charged with aggravated animal cruelty. He was released from jail on $5,000 bond.
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This makes me so angry! How could he have missed those poor babies playing in the puddle?!
I’m glad he was caught, now I hope he’s held accountable.
Share this if you want to see him pay for his crime.
