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I witnessed one of the most surreal, horrific occurances tonight. My heart is still racing.

Im going to pick up my daughter from school at around 5:40. As the light turns green, a minivan pushes his way past and in front of me as the 2 lanes merge into one. About 100 yards later, we're driving about 30 mph when a full-grown deer runs full speed across the busy lanes of moving cars and hits the minivan directly on his left front fender.

The deer flies up in the air, rapidly spinning head over heels (no pun intended, literally in fact) like a rag doll and lands 2 feet from my right bumper (I am still
travelling at a steady rate at this point. Parts of the car (probably the side mirror) broken and splattering all over. I felt like I was in some weird videogame terminal. The image will be etched into my brain for some time.

I was late getting Spencer, so I didnt stop. When we doubled back later, the car was still off to the side. The deer must have been moved to the side of the road, I didnt see it.

Yikes.

glad you're o.k.

Yikes!

Hope the other car people were okay!

Glad you are!

Yikers.

I am so glad you were not hurt.

Glad you and yours are OK Moonie.

And to illustrate a cultural difference - here in the South, when a deer and vehicle collide (as happened to my brother a couple of months ago) the question is not "Are you OK?", rather it's "Who got the venison?"

Seriously. Everybody that I told the story of my brothers deer/truck wreck to always asked about either the deer meat or the rack.

So Moonie - Who got the deer?

Yikes!

Aren't you lucky that minivan pulled in front of you.

I drive through the village of Cayuga Heights on the way to work, where the deer overpopulation is a huge issue. There's a lot of acrimony between those who want the herd culled with those who think anything like that would be dangerous and horrible and cruel and think about Bambi!

I slowed down last night to avoid a deer that was wearing one of those tracking collars, and I was thinking about the grumbles I'd have had if there had been an accident with a deer that they knew was a problem.

Wow. Two weeks ago, a deer ran in front of Steve, and he slowed enough to avoid it, but the car coming in the opposite direction hit it and it went flying back over our car, so then Steve had to floor it to avoid getting hit when it landed. So it was 'slow down to avoid hitting deer' followed by 'speed up to avoid being hit by same deer' in a space of seconds.

I think Obama should sign an Executive Order banning all deer from roadways!

jaybee wrote:Glad you and yours are OK Moonie.

And to illustrate a cultural difference - here in the South, when a deer and vehicle collide (as happened to my brother a couple of months ago) the question is not "Are you OK?", rather it's "Who got the venison?"

Seriously. Everybody that I told the story of my brothers deer/truck wreck to always asked about either the deer meat or the rack.

So Moonie - Who got the deer?

I was driving with a friend near Lake Tahoe years ago and we were going about 50 on a country road. A deer jumped out onto the road from behind some bushes. We hit it broadside and it went flying. The plastic grill and other parts of his car were shattered and the radiator had a leak. He got a small piece of wood and jammed it into the leak which temporarily would let us get around. The deer was barely alive and had at least two broken legs. We weren't sure what to do but a farmer came out and he had a 22 pistol. We put the deer out of its misery. Who got the venison?
The farmer didn't want it and my friend was not a hunter or knew any. So we loaded it into the back of the truck and took it to the county dump.

I'm glad you are OK.

I've hit deer three times. The worst one smashed in the front of my Ford Escort, knocked out the headlights, caved in the radiator, but the car kept running. As did the deer.

I was coming home from work at three in the morning and I still had about 15 miles to drive. So I got off on side roads, drove slowly, and made my way home with no headlights. There was a glow coming from under the hood which turned out to be the insulation smoldering. It would get brighter the faster I drove so I kept it slow.


And who gets the venison is an issue in the Midwest, too. When I used to tell that story in Michigan the fire under the hood was seen as less of a problem than the fact that the deer got away.

I've never hit a deer but I came very close to hitting a horse. It was just after elwing and I got married and I was on my way to work at that Scottish gourmet restaurant, McDonald's. I was one of those who opened the store and had to be there at 5AM. It was winter and so it was still quite dark. I was heading down the road, not really paying much attention since there was no traffic and I didn't expect any trouble, when my headlights revealed a dark-colored horse standing in the middle of the road. I slammed on the brakes and managed not to hit the poor thing; before I could get out of the car it ran off. The area was fairly open and "countrified" so it may have belonged to someone living nearby. In any event I'm glad I didn't hit it.

ulysses5019 wrote:

jaybee wrote:Glad you and yours are OK Moonie.

And to illustrate a cultural difference - here in the South, when a deer and vehicle collide (as happened to my brother a couple of months ago) the question is not "Are you OK?", rather it's "Who got the venison?"

Seriously. Everybody that I told the story of my brothers deer/truck wreck to always asked about either the deer meat or the rack.

So Moonie - Who got the deer?

I was driving with a friend near Lake Tahoe years ago and we were going about 50 on a country road. A deer jumped out onto the road from behind some bushes. We hit it broadside and it went flying. The plastic grill and other parts of his car were shattered and the radiator had a leak. He got a small piece of wood and jammed it into the leak which temporarily would let us get around. The deer was barely alive and had at least two broken legs. We weren't sure what to do but a farmer came out and he had a 22 pistol. We put the deer out of its misery. Who got the venison?
The farmer didn't want it and my friend was not a hunter or knew any. So we loaded it into the back of the truck and took it to the county dump.

I'll bet that was on or near U.S. 50. I've come close many times to hitting a deer there. A friend of my father's was killed when a deer jumped off a ledge above that highway and through his convertible roof.

SteelersFan hit a doe on the way into town, and we called around a bit trying to give it to the local homeless shelter or soup kitchen. It was on a Saturday, we couldn't find anybody to take it.

By the time we got back from running our errands, the deer was gone. I'm guessing someone who saw the accident picked it up and that there was venison chili on someone's table that night.

$1,300 damage to the car.

No damage to the occupants, only to the deer.

Bob Juch wrote:

ulysses5019 wrote:

jaybee wrote:Glad you and yours are OK Moonie.

And to illustrate a cultural difference - here in the South, when a deer and vehicle collide (as happened to my brother a couple of months ago) the question is not "Are you OK?", rather it's "Who got the venison?"

Seriously. Everybody that I told the story of my brothers deer/truck wreck to always asked about either the deer meat or the rack.

So Moonie - Who got the deer?

I was driving with a friend near Lake Tahoe years ago and we were going about 50 on a country road. A deer jumped out onto the road from behind some bushes. We hit it broadside and it went flying. The plastic grill and other parts of his car were shattered and the radiator had a leak. He got a small piece of wood and jammed it into the leak which temporarily would let us get around. The deer was barely alive and had at least two broken legs. We weren't sure what to do but a farmer came out and he had a 22 pistol. We put the deer out of its misery. Who got the venison?
The farmer didn't want it and my friend was not a hunter or knew any. So we loaded it into the back of the truck and took it to the county dump.

I'll bet that was on or near U.S. 50. I've come close many times to hitting a deer there. A friend of my father's was killed when a deer jumped off a ledge above that highway and through his convertible roof.

Not highway 50. One of the roads we use after coming down Kingsbury Grade on the way to Gardnerville.

I'm glad you're safe & "its only a mirror".


My Dad had that "can I have it" conversation with the state police who showed up at his
dented car many moons later, back in that era of no-cell-phone. Dad didn't know what
the officer was referring to, but after it became clear the officer meant "the deer", they
both went trooping into the woods for a look-see. Apparently deer can take out your
whole fender (&, it turned out as was discovered later, crack your battery too) & still
make full a getaway. At least this deer did.

SportsFan68 wrote:SteelersFan hit a doe on the way into town, and we called around a bit trying to give it to the local homeless shelter or soup kitchen. It was on a Saturday, we couldn't find anybody to take it.

By the time we got back from running our errands, the deer was gone. I'm guessing someone who saw the accident picked it up and that there was venison chili on someone's table that night.

$1,300 damage to the car.

No damage to the occupants, only to the deer.

They said the deer I hit in 1977 on U.S. 50 (the other end from California - halfway between Ocean City and Salisbury, Maryland) would go to "the Old Folks Home".

ulysses5019 wrote:

Bob Juch wrote:

ulysses5019 wrote: I was driving with a friend near Lake Tahoe years ago and we were going about 50 on a country road. A deer jumped out onto the road from behind some bushes. We hit it broadside and it went flying. The plastic grill and other parts of his car were shattered and the radiator had a leak. He got a small piece of wood and jammed it into the leak which temporarily would let us get around. The deer was barely alive and had at least two broken legs. We weren't sure what to do but a farmer came out and he had a 22 pistol. We put the deer out of its misery. Who got the venison?
The farmer didn't want it and my friend was not a hunter or knew any. So we loaded it into the back of the truck and took it to the county dump.

I'll bet that was on or near U.S. 50. I've come close many times to hitting a deer there. A friend of my father's was killed when a deer jumped off a ledge above that highway and through his convertible roof.

Not highway 50. One of the roads we use after coming down Kingsbury Grade on the way to Gardnerville.

OK, Kingsbury Grade connects U.S. 50 to Nevada 206. Close enough.

moonie wrote:I witnessed one of the most surreal, horrific occurances tonight. My heart is still racing.

Im going to pick up my daughter from school at around 5:40. As the light turns green, a minivan pushes his way past and in front of me as the 2 lanes merge into one. About 100 yards later, we're driving about 30 mph when a full-grown deer runs full speed across the busy lanes of moving cars and hits the minivan directly on his left front fender.

The deer flies up in the air, rapidly spinning head over heels (no pun intended, literally in fact) like a rag doll and lands 2 feet from my right bumper (I am still
travelling at a steady rate at this point. Parts of the car (probably the side mirror) broken and splattering all over. I felt like I was in some weird videogame terminal. The image will be etched into my brain for some time.

I was late getting Spencer, so I didnt stop. When we doubled back later, the car was still off to the side. The deer must have been moved to the side of the road, I didnt see it.

Yikes.

If your heart is racing over that you might not make it in my little corner of the world! So far the count is 3 horses, 2 deer and 1 tree that, umm, jumped out in front of me. To the best of my knowledge there was no partridge in it...

If you want to get your heart racing try getting passed by an oncoming car at night that is blinking its headlights furiously on a lonely country road, succeeding in slowing me down a bit but mostly just in blinding me, only to next see the four horseman of the apocalypse, sans horseman, coming directly at you in your lane!

With the road tightly bound by heavy woods on each side all I could do was try to keep the truck in the road. And fortunately it was my truck and not a car!

One horse went left, one went right, one tried unsuccessfully to vault the truck (leaving a hoof print on the roof of the cab). The last one apparently wasn't very creative and did its dead level best to go right through the grill, followed shortly thereafter by an attempt to go directly through the windshield.

Now that will give the old ticker a workout!

I do have to give credit to an American made vehicle. It was a 1995 GMC Sierra king cab pick up and it took the blows well, leaving me unscathed and the vehicle still running, albeit without a functional radiator and about 8K worth of body damage.

I still have that truck. Hard to sell a loyal friend like that.

Alaskan cousin said that moose were bad news--as far a collisions go. They're so long legged that they just floop right onto the passenger compartment. I'll bet giraffes would be similar if somewhat more infrequently involved.