Raccoon Takes Joyride on Family's Car Windshield and They Hilariously Freak Out

If raccoons have a taste for anything other than garbage, it's adventure. The furry critters have been known to climb skyscrapers, get "drunk" on crabapples...

If raccoons have a taste for anything other than garbage, it's adventure. The furry critters have been known to climb skyscrapers, get "drunk" on crabapples, and even hop aboard alligators when they're not on the hunt for more trash to eat. That was once again proven true last week, when one of the nocturnal creatures in Tennessee hilariously surprised a family by hitching a ride on the windshield of their car.

While driving herself and her family home from basketball practice last week in Clarksville, Tennessee, 16-year-old Haylee Lowry got quite a scare when a raccoon darted out in front of the car without enough time for her to swerve or stop. Since she's a new driver (she only got her license a couple days before), she was upset thinking she'd run it over, until the lil' guy made it quite obvious it was very much alive by crawling up onto the hood of the car and onto the windshield as she sped down the road. 

Lowry's mother, who was filming in the passenger seat, managed to get the moment on camera (shown above), and it's delightfully entertaining. Not only because the raccoon seems wildly confused as to what's going on, but also for the cacophony of laughter from the rest of the family watching it all go down. 

Shortly after the animal popped up, Lowry wisely pulled over and it jumped off. The encounter served as quite a crash-course in the random driving hazards, and Lowry's mom was impressed with how she handled it, according to The Dodo.

“I think she definitely learned something,” her mom said a couple days after the incident. “She said she slowed down last night because she thought she saw another animal. Turned out to be a mailbox.”


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Joe McGauley is a senior writer for Thrillist. Follow him @jwmcgauley.