An iguana ran into a bicycle. Things didn’t work out so well for the reptile, police said

File this under Florida Keys problems.

Iguanas can sometimes rule the roads in South Florida. They’re certainly in abundance and, at times, seemingly brave and crazy.

Some drivers swerve to avoid harming an iguana. Others smack into them.

In this instance, a bicycle rider said he had no choice but to make direct contact.

One unlucky reptile Friday morning managed to get stuck between a bicycle’s front tire and front wheel fork after darting out in front of the bike rider’s path

The bike locked up, sending a 62-year-old Marathon man flying over the handlebars and onto the pavement, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Monroe Deputy Andrew Leird responded to the bicycle path area in front of Crane Point Hammock, at mile marker 50.5, at 10:48 a.m., to see about the bike crash.

There, the deputy found a man with scrapes and cuts to his head, arms and right leg, according to Adam Linhardt, the sheriff’s office spokesman.

The victim said he was traveling south on the bicycle path when the iguana rushed out in front of him from the grassy median.

The victim was taken to Fishermen’s Community Hospital in stable condition, Linhardt said.

“The condition of the iguana did not appear as stable,” he added.

Crane Point Hammock makes up 63 acres of hardwood trees, nature trails and educational displays for adults and children.

Crane Point, a slightly elevated patch of land called a hammock, is owned and managed by the Florida Keys Land and Sea Trust, a private organization working to protect the Keys.

This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 6:49 PM.

Gwen Filosa

Miami Herald

Gwen Filosa covers Key West and the Lower Florida Keys for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald and lives in Key West. She was part of the staff at the New Orleans Times-Picayune that in 2005 won two Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She graduated from Indiana University.