Female Terrapin Crushed by Truck on Lieutenant Island
The first fatality of the diamonback terrapin nesting season occurred this morning on Lieutenant Island in South Wellfleet. A gorgeous ten-year-old female, heavy with eggs and making a nesting run, was run over by a truck at the intersection of the island’s main asphalt road and Marsh Road (Way #100).Â
Sue Wieber Nourse found this young lady about an hour before flood tide. A vacationer reported that she had witnessed the event.  A large commercial truck ran over the turtle in the dirt shoulder as the vehicle rushed to get off the island before the causeway disappeared under the full moon tide, which would have inconvenienced the driver.