4 penguins killed in East Texas truck accident

And now for something completely different: A truck full of penguins, tropical fish, birds and an octopus overturned on an East Texas highway Tuesday morning, killing a few of the penguins and some of the fish.

The truck was on its way to Moody Gardens in Galveston from the Indianapolis Zoo loaded with 25 penguins, the fish and the birds, all of which Moody Gardens had agreed to keep while part of the Indy Zoo is renovated. Zoo employees Kelly Hodge and Tammy Root were driving the truck straight through from Indianapolis to Galveston; at about 4:30 yesterday morning, Hodge, who was driving at the time, tried to pick up directions that had fallen on the truck's floorboard. The truck veered off the side of Highway 59 and Hodge overcorrected, causing the truck to overturn in a ditch about eight miles north of Marshall. Penguins apparently went everywhere: One was crushed beneath the truck and three were killed when they were hit by passing motorists. (We can only imagine what stories those drivers will have to tell — "Remember the time I hit that dang penguin?"). Four other penguins were injured; one of them suffered a broken wing. The animals were transferred to another truck and finally arrived at Moody Gardens at 8:35 p.m. They'll be quarantined for at least 30 days before joining Moody Gardens' 94 other penguins and will remain in Galveston until next spring.

Neither Hodge nor Root had a commercial driver's license, which is required to drive a large truck in Texas. Hodge was cited for not staying in one lane and for not having a logbook, which is required in a commercial vehicle, and was given a warning for not having the license. Both women were treated for minor injuries.