A kitten whose rescue on the Coronado Bridge led to a three-car crash last week has been adopted and given a new name, the animal shelter that took in the 10-week-old tabby told NBC 7.
Chancel Siebuhr, the animal care and behavior manager at Paws of Coronado, said the kitten's new parents call him Rio, short for Felipe Rios, after former Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.
Last Tuesday, on Sept. 26, a driver was traveling on the bridge when they spotted a flash of orange fur. The animal lover got out of their car to save what turned out to be the young tabby, according to the Coronado Police Department.
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That brave moment took an unfortunate turn, though, when the good Samaritan's car was rear-ended by a red sedan. A third vehicle was also damaged in the incident. None of the drivers or passengers were severely injured, police said in a Facebook post.
Coronado Cpl. Andrew Hutchens and firefighters later found the kitten hiding in the moveable center divide called the zipper and took him to Paws of Coronado.
That detail explains why Rio had undergone multiple name changes since that fateful Tuesday.
"Officer Hutchens had come in and requested the name 'Crash' because he was on scene," Siebuhr said. "There were a lot of people recommending names on our Facebook groups, and he was found in the zipper, so we ended up naming him 'Zipper' while he was here."
Thankfully, besides a few paw and tail scrapes, the shelter said the baby cat was healthy and well-nourished.
Rio, who weighs just a little over 2 pounds, was initially placed on "stray hold," giving his previous owner a chance to come forward.
After the media covered Rio's rescue story, Siebuhr said the shelter received several phone calls a day from people across San Diego interested in taking him home.
The couple who adopted Rio had a pending application and specified they were looking for an orange kitten.
"So when [Rio] came in, we reached out to them," Siebuhr said.
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Siebuhr says Hutchens was also interested in adopting Rio, but the shelter wasn't aware until after Rio found a new home.
The beaches and parks in Coronado make the city a heavy dumping ground for cats and dogs, according to Siebuhr.
"We kind of assumed that's what happened with this kitten," she said.
If you were one of the callers wanting to bring Rio home, Paws of Coronado says they have about 20 cats and kittens in foster, with more kittens ready in the next few weeks.
"We're hoping that we can get some publicity for our other guys that have been here for a long time," Siebuhr said.
