Imagine this: You’re driving a truck down the highway during the dead of night. Then out of nowhere: BAM! Your windshield shatters. No, it isn’t a rock or a tree branch. It’s an alligator hanging from a highway overpass.

No, this isn’t some bizarre nocturnal ritual alligators have. It’s not common, even on I-10, north of Tallahassee, Florida. It seems someone had killed and butchered the animal, then hung it by a chain from the overpass. As a…prank?

The state of Florida is a wealth of bizarre stories. From the woman who crashed her car while shaving…down there, to the man who stole a train for a joyride. But this might be the most “Florida” story yet.

According to authorities, the poor driver of the Penske truck smashed into an eight-foot alligator. And that’s saying something, considering its tail was missing. Why? Bekah Nelson, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, explained, “The tail was already removed. They probably took it for the meat,” (Bradenton Herald).

It appeared that the animal had been killed recently. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s statement said that the “alligator was killed some time around the morning of May 8 and shortly after was hung by a steel chain from the Birchwood Road overpass.”

Why dispose of the huge animal’s body like that? First off, the hunters were probably poachers. “It is unlawful to kill, injure, possess or capture an American alligator… unless authorized by the rules of the FWC.”

So perhaps they were worried about being caught with the carcass. But that still doesn’t explain the downright dangerous means of disposal. Nelson added, “It came down. Nobody was injured. I’ve never heard of anything like this.”

The department is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for any leads.