Trooper aids bald eagle, tracks down driver
A state trooper rescued an injured bald eagle and days later tracked down a driver wanted on various charges.
You might say state Trooper Bryan Whalen of the Monroe barracks has an eagle eye.
The trooper rescued an injured bald eagle along state Route 17 in Blooming Grove on Tuesday, March 16.
A motorist contacted state police Troop F headquarters in the town of Wallkill to report an injured bald eagle. Whalen responded to the location and observed that the eagle appeared injured. He was able to use his division-issued jacket and a K-9 trooper’s bite sleeve to corral the eagle and safely put it into a kennel that was provided by the Warwick Valley Animal Rescue.
The bird, dubbed “Trooper,” was then transferred
to Officer Nicole Duchene from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Duchene transported the bird to a
rehab facility in New Paltz for further care.
Five days later, Whalen used his “eagle eye” while chasing a car on Route 17 in Goshen at mid-morning on Sunday, March 21, when the driver was clocked at 117 mph in a 65-mph zone.
The 18-year-old driver, whose name was not released, was weaving in and out of traffic. He got off the highway at Exit 129 and attempted to hide in the park-and-ride lot, state police said. Whalen saw him and, as he walked over to the car, the driver sped off again, getting back on the highway eastbound to the southbound Thruway, according to authorities.
The trooper terminated the chance for safety reasons when the vehicle reached a speed of 148 mph. Whalen had taken down the car’s license plate and learned it belonged to a vehicle in New York City. He located the owner and discovered he