Video has captured a driver's attempt to save a schoolboy frantically running away from a turkey in hot pursuit.

The child, weighed down by a backpack, can be seen in the footage running up a bicycle lane at the side of a road, while the bird - just feet behind - appears to be gaining.

Suddenly, an SUV veers between the boy and the turkey, forcing it to veer away and temporarily halt the chase.

The footage was captured by a fellow driver, Evan Skaletski, in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin.

Vanessa Miramontes, the woman who intercepted the animal, told local news channel Action News 2 she saw the child’s eyes “completely bugged out” during the pursuit.

“You could sense the poor kid’s fear,” she said, adding she “instinctively” turned in front of the turkey.

But after the bird stared her down “for what felt like a year”, it took off again and caught back up with the boy, who was still running, within seconds.