A 48-year-old man accused of killing Pinky, the dancing flamingo at Busch Gardens, died after being hit by a truck.
Anthony Corrao passed away when he was hit by a pickup truck while crossing a road near his Orlando home.
The 48-year-old, who was scheduled to go on trial for animal cruelty, was walking north across State Road 50 before 6 am when a Ford F-150 truck struck him. He was pronounced dead in Florida Hospital East.
The truck driver wasn’t named but further investigation into the accident had been launched.
Corrao gained notoriety in 2016 after he was accused of grabbing Pinky’s feathered body from its pen before he threw the poor animal to the ground. He did it with so much force that the flamingo had to be euthanized.
He was visiting the theme park with his family when he slammed the flamingo down, according to reports.
According to a witness, Corrao was ‘plastered’ and that his mother tried to take him away from the flamingo before he could grab it. Sadly, veterinaries had to euthanize her as the injuries were so severe.
Corrao was detained by the security and Tampa police arrested him on a charge of felony animal cruelty. He was imprisoned for five days and released on bail.
He told authorities that he didn’t mean to hurt Pinky as he was only trying to show off to his daughter. When he found out the animal had to be put down, he immediately apologized.
Karen Varga-Sinka, a park spokesperson, said: “Pinky loved to dance for our guests. Her keepers say that this is not a trained behavior, but a natural behavior she loved to show off.”
“She will be sorely missed,” she added.
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