ORINDA \u2014 A cold-blooded stroll by a shell-covered wanderer caused motorists on a Sunday drive through this Lamorinda city to swerve, slow, stop and eventually call police.<\/p>\n
In the end, the jaywalker \u2014 this one a tortoise weighing at least 40 pounds \u2014 ended up back behind an enclosure, and the vehicles he didn\u2019t try hard to avoid evaded damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis name is Bernie. He was pretty large,\u201d Orinda Police spokesperson Officer Chanel Taliaferro said. \u201cI\u2019m sure he maybe even was a little heavier than what has been estimated. We don\u2019t know how old he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
What police do know that Bernie has a distaste for being kept in an enclosure. Taliaferro said \u201cthis is not the first time he has made the great escape.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bernie\u2019s adventure happened Aug. 9 and ended with him on southbound Camino Pablo, a major roadway near Highway 24 that is at the southern portion of the San Pablo Dam Road corridor. He ended up at the intersection of Camino Sobrante.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very busy street and place,\u201d Taliaferro said. \u201cIt\u2019s a major throughfare here. He was in one of the two lanes.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also about a half-mile from where Bernie usually lives inside an enclosure with an owner. Tortoises live their lives on land in contrast to water-dominant turtles.<\/p>\n
Police did not identify Bernie\u2019s owner or give that person a citation.<\/p>\n