Photo credit: KGW.com

MCAS Officer Lightner rescued a bald eagle from I-84 this afternoon. It was reportedly struck by a car while eating something in the roadway. Officer Lightner was assisted by local police, fire and sheriff's departments who enabled the eagle to be safely collected from the highway. It was immediately transferred to Audubon Society of Portland where it will receive expert care. We will post an update on the eagle's progress as soon as it becomes available.

KGW has a news story and amazing raw video footage posted on their site. Additional news stories are available at Willamette Week, KPTV, and KATU.

UPDATE 2/21 11:00 am: Audubon Society of Portland reports the bird has a broken leg and a spinal injury. A CT scan will be performed today to determine the extent of inury and whether it can be saved. Additional updates will be posted as information becomes available.

UPDATE 2/21 5:00 pm: We regret to report that the bald eagle had to be euthanized. Audubon Society of Portland has additional information available on their web site. We would like to thank Audubon and all the people in various agencies who worked together to save this beautiful bird.

3/5 Follow-up: This story on OregonLive describes what will become of the bald eagle. It is illegal to posess or sell any part of a bald eagle, but there is a special program that provides feathers for use by Native Americans and meets other requests by responsible organizations.