Officials at a California animal hospital said veterinarians freed a young red-tailed hawk from the front grill of a car that struck it on the road.

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Lynn Narlesky, spokeswoman for the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California-Davis, said the motorist arrived Jan. 6 with the hawk's head and talons stuck in the front of the car and veterinarians used a screwdriver to pry the grill from the vehicle, Sacramento's KCRA-TV reported Wednesday.

"A thorough exam found no bones had been broken during the hawk's accident, and its neurological function was good. The hawk did suffer a chest injury, which surgeons repaired the next day," the school said in a statement.

Veterinarians said the hawk will be released back into the wild once stormy weather subsides.