A two year-old bird of prey had its ability to fly shattered when it turned mid-flight and struck a motor vehicle on Hazelwood Road near Traralgon in January.
Oblivious to the Goshawk's plight, the car continued on its journey, while the bird was stopped in its tracks.
Traralgon's Gary Rodgers was driving behind the car when he witnessed the impact, and pulled over to help.
"It got up and ran like a chook while holding its wing out; it didn't try to fly," Mr Rodgers said.
The Goshawk ran into the grass and laid down, which according to wildlife experts, it was "playing dead"; a defensive behaviour.
Spotting the large claws and beak, Mr Rodgers called a friend to help, who arrived with a cardboard box and a towel.
"I've got a soft spot for raptors; they're a unique bird, and this one was beautiful; it wasn't stressed or anything," Mr Rodgers said.
"I see a lot of (birds of prey) hit on the roads; it seems more and more are getting hit, and you think, 'it's not good'."
A call to Wildlife Victoria put him in touch with Kathy Beamish, a registered Boolarra wildlife carer, who he then met in Churchill for a handover.
"It's very hard to tell when they are stressed or how they will react, but (the Goshawk) was certainly feisty," Ms Beamish said.
"It flipped out the wing that was working okay, but once you let them calm down they just stand there and watch you," Ms Beamish said.
Ms Beamish had begun training as a wildlife carer earlier, but it was the Black Saturday bushfires when demand for her skills skyrocketed.
Despite time and expenses coming out of her own pocket, Ms Beamish said her passion for wildlife meant she was "quite happy to go in and commit", sharing the responsibility with other registered volunteers in the area.
Ms Beamish was available that afternoon to drive the Goshawk to Jeeralang Junction and Gippsland specialty bird carer, Harry Pappas.
For Mr Pappas, the relatively easy case was one of up to 100 injured birds he receives each year.
"It's wing (bone) was fractured lengthways, not shattered, which is much worse, so I was able to give a medical splint," Mr Pappas said.
"He was put in a restraint, and he was kept quiet and fed up for about four weeks - by that time he had recovered."
Mr Pappas released the Goshawk - a two year-old cockbird - in Jeeralang, a relocation which he said was acceptable outside of breeding season, due to the territorial nature of a breeding bird.
"There's no value in releasing anything that can't look after itself; birds of prey need their flight characteristics," Mr Pappas said.
Speaking to The Express after picking up three injured birds in the Valley - a swan from Traralgon, and a cockatoo and eastern rosella from Moe - Mr Pappas said he serviced the area from Warragul to Sale, and Yarram to Walhalla.
"The biggest prob?lem today is our motorists - many drive with no consideration for wildlife; as a consequence, eagles can't get off roadkill quick enough, and baby birds, that aren't flying, just aren't quick enough on their feet," he said.
"I think it's getting worse; I can forget about a day off, I've forgotten what one feels like."
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