Good samaritans Robin McCartney and Sam with the pelican.
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By PETER DAY
Senior Reporter
Longtime Lucerne Valley resident Robin McCartney has seen just about everything. But this one took her by surprise.
One recent Saturday morning, McCartney was driving on Highway 247 when just east of Post Office Road she came upon a white object flailing in the middle of the highway. The object turned out to be a large white pelican, which apparently needed to make a quick landing due to a loss of its strength.
“It wouldn’t move from the middle of the road,” she said.
McCartney called 9/11, which referred her to the County Planning Department. A representative told her to leave the bird where it was.
“But I can’t leave it in the middle of the road,” she said.
Luckily, a young couple named Sam and Brittany stopped to help.
“Sam put electric tape around its bill,” she said.
Then the good samaritans took the large bird, which has a large alphanumeric tag to identify the origin of the pelican, to the Station 8 Fire Station.
But it wasn’t the bird the firefighters were most concerned with.
“They were more worried about me,” McCartney said. “Because of the heat, my blood pressure went up.”
But she insisted they help the pelican. So the firefighters took the bird in to help it recuperate and contact wildlife authorities.
“It was an exciting two hours,” she said.