Dean Wade had only started his job as a chef at the Old Bell Hetal in Malmesbury, England two weeks before he saw the car crash through the empty shop across the street. The woman in the passenger seat fled immediately, he told the Washington Post, but the intoxicated driver was a little slow and clumsy on his feet.
And then this happened:
Wearing his slip-resistant rubber kitchen clogs and chef's overalls, Wade chased the driver for 15 to 20 minutes, through bushes, allotments and gardens before the pair ended up at an animal sanctuary.
This was when the real confrontation began.
"I could see this massive emu," Wade said. "I'm six foot tall and it was bigger than me."
Wade said he could tell the bird, which was surrounded by its offspring, was likely to spring into defense if anyone intruded its enclosure.
"Mate, don't go in there," Wade warned the man, who he said ignored his advice, replying: "I can fight emus" before heading into the animal's pen — where he was repeatedly pecked.
"It was stabbing his body all over," Wade said, causing the man to curse and unsuccessfully attempt to "kung-fu-kick" the animal away.
The bird kept stabbing at the driver, who eventually gave up, fled the pen and headed toward a river — while Wade took the opportunity to flag down a nearby police car.
According to the BBC, the emu lived at the nearby Malmesbury Animal Sanctuary, and is now the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Emu and chef help stop driver fleeing crash site [Jennifer Hassan / Washington Post]
Man fleeing Wiltshire crash scene attacked by emus [BBC]
Image: Public Domain via PxHere