The afternoon sun blazed down on a crowded highway when Trooper LaVonte’ Lee spotted something unusual on the asphalt. At first, he thought they were just bits of debris caught between rushing cars. But as he drew closer, his heart skipped.
Two newborn squirrels—so tiny their eyes were still sealed shut, their fur no more than a soft fuzz—lay helpless in the middle of the lane. Cars whizzed past, each moment threatening to be their last.
Without hesitation, Trooper Lee stopped traffic and knelt down, scooping the fragile creatures into his hands. To his surprise, the babies clung to his arm, their tiny claws grasping as if they instinctively knew they had been rescued.
But saving them from the road was only the first step. These newborns wouldn’t survive on their own. So instead of leaving them to fate, Trooper Lee made calls—wildlife experts, rehabilitators, anyone who could help. Within hours, the squirrels were placed in the care of specialists, where they were given warmth, formula, and a real chance at survival.
Witnesses that day said the scene was unforgettable: a uniformed trooper standing in the middle of a busy road, cradling life so fragile it barely seemed possible.
For Lee, it wasn’t about being a hero. “Sometimes,” he later said quietly, “you just have to stop and protect the smallest lives. That’s part of the job, too.”
And for two newborn squirrels who should never have survived that highway, one act of compassion has meant the difference between certain death and a second chance at life.