WASATCH COUNTY, Utah -- More than 700 turkeys died last week when a semi-truck crashed into Deer Creek Reservoir.
Amy Meyers is a local campaign coordinator with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and she said she was horrified when she saw the images of hundreds of dead turkeys in Deer Creek Reservoir.
That's why she wrote a letter to the Utah Department of Transportation, requesting a roadside memorial sign for the birds, which were on their way to a processing plant in Moroni when the semi crashed into the water.
Meyers showed us what the sign could look like, with the message "drive safely buckle up" on top, and below: “In memory of the hundreds of terrified turkeys who died here in a truck crash. Go vegan.”
“PETA is applying for a roadside memorial to commemorate the hundreds of turkeys who suffered a long death from injury or drowned in the freezing cold reservoir as a result of the truck accident last week,” Meyers said.
Right now, UDOT only has roadside memorials for humans. But if they approve the sign, Utah would become the first U.S. state to have a roadside memorial for animals.
"Any loss of life is unfortunate," said UDOT Spokesman John Gleason. "But the roadside memorials are specifically for people that have been killed in crashes and for the family members that want to memorialize those people."
