By TAVIA D. GREEN • Gannett Tennessee • October 6, 2008
Tommy Fox was driving home from his job in Dover Wednesday at about 11 p.m. when a beautiful red fox dashed in front of his SUV.
After he ran over the fox, he stopped his GMC Jimmy to get the fox to cut off its tail for a souvenir, and he put it in the back seat, said Dale Grandstaff, a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency wildlife officer."The tails are real bushy and pretty and thick this time of year," Grandstaff said.
Things took an odd turn when Fox heard a noise coming from his back seat and realized the fox was alive — and not happy.
The driver desperately searched for something to hold the fox back and prevent him from climbing into the front seat and biting him, he told Grandstaff.
As he looked in the back seat to get a blanket to block the fox, he took his attention from the road.
The SUV crossed the center line and wrecked in a ditch, flipping once and landing upside down in the 3900 block of Lylewood Road, Grandstaff said.
Fox suffered minor injuries and bruises and was treated at the scene by Montgomery County Emergency Medical Service.
The fox was found dead in the SUV. Grandstaff said it was not clear whether the animal died of injuries caused by being hit by the SUV or if it died in the wreck. It was also not known if Tommy Fox got to keep the tail.
Fox could not be located for comment, and the complete Tennessee Highway Patrol report was not available Thursday. His vehicle is registered in Beaumont, Miss., said Laura McPherson, Tennessee Highway Patrol spokeswoman.
The wreck was handled by Trooper Vincent Turocy.
Never cage a fox
Grandstaff said foxes can be found in many places in Montgomery County.
"They're around — they're just really shy and reclusive animals," Grandstaff said. "They do get run over this time of year."
Grandstaff said there was nothing wrong with Tommy Fox taking the animal after striking it. But foxes don't like to be caged, especially when they are alive, he said.
"They are a wild animal — they don't want to be picked up or touched. They just want to be left alone," Grandstaff said.
