Native Wildlife

Driving home from Raleigh yesterday we were coming up a 4 lane road level, with a 45MPH speed limit and an unlimited view for at lease half a mile. Up ahead in our lane we spotted a LARGE land tortoise slowly making his/her way across the road. Not the safest endeavor for a tortoise but he was at least 2 1/5 - 3 feet long and over 1 1/5 feet wide, brown and difficult not to spot. I thought he might be a non-native former pet on the loose.
We easily went around him and started looking for a spot to turn around and at least move him off the road when in the rearview and side mirrors we witnessed a white, early 90's sedan swerve....
to hit the tortoise...
It was a very intentional move. There was no one on the car's left and plenty of time to see the LARGE tortoise in the road. It's not like it was going to dart out in front of the car but the driver chose to swerve in such a way that two tires hit the tortoise and we witnessed it all.
We turned around. I was desparately hoping the shell protected him but he was really, really dead when we got up to him.
I found out today this tortoise is a native species to the area. I'm still really angry about that. It was a gopher tortoise and it is federally protected!!!! http://www.gophertortoise.org/tortoise/faqs.htm I had a mean thought that if there is any justice a piece of his shell wedged in both of the tires that hit him and that driver woke up to two flat tires this morning.
You certainly shouldn't put your life in jeopardy to avoid hitting wildlife with your car but you REALLY shouldn't aim for them either. A tortoise that size had to have been on this planet for quite some time and all it would have took was a tiny bit of consideration to keep him here instead of making him road kill.