Shark Killed In Truck Accident On Way To Coney Island Aquarium
A Sandbar shark that was on its way from Florida to a new home at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island was killed in a truck accident on Thursday.
The truck was traveling on I-95 near Daytona Beach, Florida, when a tire blew out, causing the shark’s tank to shatter. The truck veered into a median and then ran off the road and into the treeline around 2:20pm, reports a local Florida television station.
The five-foot-long shark was one of four in the truck. The three people in the truck suffered no injuries.
The surviving sharks were taken to SeaWorld in Orlando, where they will stay until new transportation can be arranged, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The sharks are set to be a part of the New York Aquarium’s new 57,000-square-foot facility, called “Ocean Wonders: Sharks!” Work on the expansion – the largest at the institution in years – began in January 2014, and aquarium officials say it will hold 115 species including more than 45 different kinds of sharks, and guests will be able to view the creatures from all sides with the installation of a 360-degree coral reef tunnel. It is set to open in 2016.
