Video shows kangaroo hopping near Texas highway as stranded driver captures bizarre encounter

One might expect to see certain types of wildlife while driving on Texas roadways, from armadillos to deer. Yet you might not expect to spot a kangaroo bouncing along.

That, however, is exactly what Carlie Butler saw on April 18.

Butler is the owner of Espressoak, a mobile coffee shop in Abilene. She told CBS News Texas that she was driving on I-20 to cater a wedding in Weatherford, but had to stop on a service road along I-20 in Gordon, about 38 miles southwest of the city. 

The reason: a wheel bearing on the trailer went out.

Waiting for help

"I noticed my trailer was kind of sitting back. I felt like a jolt and looked in my rearview mirror," Butler said, "and there were sparks flying in the back."

She had to pull over in the rain. It was what Butler said was a "worst-case scenario".

"We were coming up on a hill," she said, "and it was only seven miles form the exit I was gonna take to get to the wedding. So, super big bummer. I immediately get over and call my husband to tell him I think I had a blowout."

When she got out and took a closer look, Butler realized it wasn't a blowout at all.

"The tire's actually shoved up into my trailer," she said.

It wasn't something that could be handled on the side of a busy highway. Butler then called the groom's mother, who she used to go to church with, to let her know she wasn't going to be able to make it.

"She said, actually, she hadn't even told the bride that this was happening; it was gonna be a surprise," Butler said, "so she was like 'you're not ruining anything, she doesn't even know you're coming, you take care of yourself. If you can come later, that's great. If you can't, I understand.'"

A stranger was able to help Butler unhook her truck, enabling her to get to the service road safely. But then the waiting game began.

"We're stranded on the side of I-20 for about four hours, waiting on a tow truck," Butler said. "First tow truck was stuck in the mud. It was raining, they couldn't get their tow truck out to help us. They were gonna send somebody from Abilene. The second tow truck finally came and they said 'it's too dangerous, we're too far in the lane of traffic, we can't move you, we're too scared to compromise your trailer or our safety', so they basically didn't take the job."

Butler kept waiting, but she wouldn't wait alone; Butler said her employee, who lives in Stephenville and was set to cater the wedding with her, headed on over to provide support.

"She was only 20 minutes from me when this happened," Butler said. "She actually came to sit with me, just to be a good friend, and we were both sitting in my truck, just talking and praying over my trailer."

Enter Little Joey

Butler said her employee took note that they were parked near a high fence. Then they saw what they believed were gazelles behind the fence.

"We're talking, and I look up," Butler said.

Then she saw the kangaroo, nicknamed "Little Joey", about an hour into this ordeal.

"I don't know anything about it, or who owns the kangaroo," Butler said. "But there we were. We were just sitting there and I watch a kangaroo just walk right out of the front gates of this property."

Butler said Little Joey found some grass to snack on before hopping near them.

"He hops out in front of my truck and nearly gets hit by another vehicle on the feeder road," she recalled, "and then just continues to keep hopping towards the highway."

Watching the kangaroo, seemingly minding his business, helped Butler find some sunshine on an otherwise dreary day.

"We are laughing so hard," she said. "For well over an hour, he's just yards from us, just hanging out, and we'll watch him hop a certain direction, kind of look at us, then he'll hop back the other direction."

Butler was worried for Little Joey's safety. But eventually, help arrived for him.

"Some people tried to come out and kind of usher him back to the property, but they really kind of kept their distance," she said, "and he was not having it, so he kept jumping even further. So they eventually just gave up and he was just hanging out with us there on that road for well over an hour."

Butler said the marsupial eventually hopped back to where he escaped from. All the while, Butler was recording video, and she told CBS News Texas that Little Joey gave her a fun memory on an otherwise stressful day. 

"I felt like it was making the most out of a bad situation for us," she said. "I felt like God sent me some humor that day because it was a really bad day, dealing with the complications with our trailer. But we got to see a kangaroo!"

Butler said eventually, a third tow truck was able to show up and get the trailer brought back to Abilene, where it will need to undergo repairs. She also said she was able to talk with the bride and the groom's mother of the wedding she was supposed to cater, promising them that she'd cater a future baby shower for them for free.

"This is my moment: the kangaroo"

At first, Butler didn't share anything about the kangaroo online.

"Just serious business, was like 'we had this setback, but we're gonna keep trekking on, we've got a coffee cart, we're not gonna miss any events, we're gonna figure this out,'" she said.

But then she decided to share the video to Espressoak's social media pages. The video ended up getting more than 20,000 likes on Instagram alone.

Butler said she hadn't seen anything else she posted for the business take off like her encounter with Little Joey.

"I've been doing this for four years, and I'm just a girl that's a small business owner," Butler said, "trying to hustle hard and make good content."

But of all the things to happen on what Butler said was the worst day of her career, she said "this is my moment: the kangaroo."

Butler said she's working to get kangaroo-themed merchandise ready as well, and has ordered kangaroo stickers for Espressoak's next event, which she said is set for Saturday, April 25, at an event in Abilene. Outside of the trailer, Butler has coffee carts that can be used for indoor events. Her and her team are also working on kangaroo-themed drink ideas.