Owl unhurt behind grill after 60mph smash

A great horned owl had an amazing escape after it was hit at 60mph by a 4WD car on a US motorway.

Driver Sonji Coney Williams spotted the owl but couldn't avoid it as she drove south on the Florida Turnpike.

"I was driving about 60mph, he never moved, and so, I said 'Oh, my God, I hit a bird', and I felt so bad but it was very dark and we didn't pull over," she said.

Ms Williams assumed the bird had been killed, until the following day when it was spotted - alive - behind the radiator grill of her vehicle in Plantation, Florida.

"There was a family that pulled in front of my parking space and flagged me down and said, 'Don't move, don't move, you have something in the grill of your truck'.

"I said, 'Yes, what is it?' And they said, 'It's an owl.' And I said, 'An owl?'"

She called Florida Fish and Wildlife and an officer opened the hood and freed the bird. Officers say the owl appeared to be in good shape and didn't suffer any injuries.