‘Poor guy’s gotta be shell shocked’: Driver lives a day straight out of ‘Mario Kart’ when an unexpected projectile launches through their window

Life in a video game may be exciting for some, but as this woman’s experience shows, it can also be terrifyingly dangerous. Fortunately, she escaped without serious injuries after her real-life Mario Kart adventure.

Florida resident Lori Hall-Allen (@loritachaquitabonita) posted a TikTok video showing her damaged windshield, and as the camera panned, she revealed the cause of the damage — a live turtle. It wasn’t blue, red, or green as seen in the Nintendo racing game, but like its video game counterparts, the turtle caused significant damage. Authorities were called to the scene, and the turtle was removed from the windshield.

Lori’s video quickly became viral, and thousands of users commented on the unbelievable catastrophe. A user wrote, “Poor guy’s gotta be shell shocked,” referring to the turtle. Another said, “Okay so now I have something else I need to worry about while driving.” One user compared the incident not to a video game, but instead, to the horror film franchise Final Destination. Indeed, what Lori went through could have been worse, but thankfully, everyone — including the turtle — made it out alive.

Many users were baffled, wondering how such an unusual incident could occur. After all, it’s not every day we see a turtle unexpectedly launched into the air. “I don’t understand… was the turtle flying? Thrown? Jumped? Can someone explain this to me?” a user pleaded.

How did it happen?

Lori was surprised to see her TikTok post had gone viral, and she posted another TikTok video to answer some of the questions users have. She said the turtle was fine after the incident, and was taken by animal control to be transferred to a sanctuary. As for Lori, she said she and her husband, who was driving the vehicle when the incident occurred, are also doing well, except for a few scratches they presumably got from the glass shards.

As for how the turtle flew through their windshield, Lori said a truck driving in front of them hit the turtle on the road, and instead of being crushed, the turtle flipped and flew up in the air, flying directly toward them. Lori’s husband saw the turtle flying toward their vehicle and tried to avoid it, but couldn’t steer away fast enough. Lori compared the sound of the impact to a gunshot and was terrified of what was happening. When she opened her eyes, however, she was surprised to see the turtle.

Many commented that had they gone through the same ordeal, they would have kept the turtle. Lori had the same idea, but she said animal control didn’t allow it. Another user took the opportunity to warn people to give trucks space and not drive directly behind them if possible because of incidents like this one. “They can turn pretty much anything into a missile, especially a blown tire,” they commented, to which Lori agreed and said she and her husband were driving on a different lane, about four cars behind the truck when the incident happened. 

Lori conceded defeat in her real-life Mario Kart moment after a commenter joked, “The other driver played Mario cart on you,” to which she replied, “And apparently won!” As for the turtle, let’s hope he’s living his best life in the sanctuary while recounting his wild adventure to his turtle friends.