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Last night my husband and I saw a deer cross right in front of our path on our way home from dinner. I slowed down and traveled slow, thinking that another one would follow. Luckily, no more deer came dashing out and we made it home safely.
I try to stay off the rural highways during deer hunting season which is now taking place in Minnesota. The gunshots scare the deer and it seems like more deer get killed and end up dead on the highways from being spooked than from being hunted down. I already got my deer, and I don’t want to get another one.
The day I got my deer, my weapon was our car. My daughter and I were coming home from the school carnival. I was driving the speed limit of 40 mph down the dark familiar road to our home during the month of April, 1999. A deer dashed in front of our path. I knew that if there was one deer, there would be another. I looked in my rearview mirror, and the car behind us was very close. I knew if I slammed on the brakes or even slowed down a bit, we would get rear ended. Then, sure enough, the other deer that I had been expecting came running out in front of us, and I smacked into it, and she went flying over to the right side of the road. We kept on going about a half mile when we got to a stop light. The car that had been following us, pulled up in the right lane while we waited for the light to change. I heard the passengers talking very excitedly, and they were looking at the front of our car. I thought, “If you wouldn’t have been riding my bumper, I could have slowed down and that deer would still be alive.”
I continued driving home, and when Laura and I got out of the car, we looked at the front end of our Buick Century. The only thing that was dented was the license plate. I never had good aim, and thought we were really lucky. I thanked the angels for watching out for us.
My daughter and I were pretty shook up. My husband called the police to let them know there was a dead deer on the side of the road. That night I didn’t sleep very well, and the next morning I drove by the spot, and my deer was still lying there. It looked like some critters had found her too.
One of our friends, a real deer hunter, mentioned that we should have called him right after it happened, and the deer would not have gone to waste. I didn’t even think about doing that at the time. At least some little critters got fed.
There are a lot of deer and other wild animals running around our neighborhood even though we live in an urban area. I hope and pray I never run into a wild animal again. It’s no wonder deer like to live so close to people. Chances are it’s safer here for them, especially during deer hunting season. That is, if they don’t get hit by a car.
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I had an experience like this once, but I don’t know what happened to the deer. It was in the middle of the road when we came up over a knoll in the road. It looked like it was already dazed and I think someone had hit it right before us. We were on the brakes by time we hit it. We turned around but never saw it anywhere, so in our mind we wanted to think it got away. I am like you, and hope I never have to experience that again. I nearly cried one time I hit a rabbit. 😦
I’m glad you and your daughter were okay, and the car wasn’t totaled.
Thank you. That incident gave me a lot of faith in Buicks! Glad you were okay too.
There’s a road near our house that runs between some very wooded areas. The speed limit there is 55 and I dread running into a deer. In 2004, I had a new Chevy Impala. The car was one week old and my husband was driving us down that road when a deer appeared right in front of us. He slowed the car, and two more deer followed. He tried so hard not to hit that 3rd deer, but couldn’t quite miss it. BUT… we were slowed enough that the deer just sort of sat down on the hood and then scampered off to follow the others. We hit just enough for the deer to leave a good dent in my brand new car’s hood! But I was happy he/she didn’t get killed.
Like you, it would weigh heavily on me if I hit and killed a wild animal. I saw a squirrel recently that had clearly just been hit and he wasn’t quite gone yet. I couldn’t stop thinking about it all day long.
My daughter and I came home from the mall this afternoon, and another deer crossed our path! I felt lucky that I saw it. You know how they blend in with the scenery. I’ve got to keep my eyes peeled. Sorry to hear about the dent in your new car. I’m glad no one got hurt.
when i moved, i was not accustomed to seeing deer that close to the highway, so when i was headed to work one day i was delighted to see what i called moving art – 2 deer at play. little did i know that one would run right into my vehicle! i pulled over and my vehicle was covered in mud and fur but no blood, so i am hoping that the deer was only a little banged up like my car.
Scary! Though beautiful, deer do not appear to be the smartest animals!
You were definitely being looked after that night. These “run-ins” can often end so much worse. Glad you were both safe.
Thank you.
It’s nerve-wracking to think those beautiful creatures will jump out in front of a car at any time. But they do. I’m happier that they are killed instantly than thinking they may be maimed.
I once killed a beautiful buck on a highway and I went flying over the embankment. It had been jumping up the steep drop to a river to reach the highway – out of my vision. I was travelling the speed limit – 90 mph in your world. I lived, miraculously unscathed though my car was totalled and the gorgeous buck was dead.
Being able to share my world with them is the least I can do!
That was quite a fall you took. I can’t understand deer – they seem spooked one minute, and then run into your car the next. They are very mysterious creatures.
The closest we’ve ever come was last week on the way home from choir practice, two blocks from home. It came out of nowhere in the darkness, and when it stopped and did a 180 it was about one foot from clobbering the side of our van, right where the boys were sitting. I was pretty shaky. I love how you phrase that: “I already got my deer.”
How sad for you! But thank heavens you were both okay physically. You were lucky with the car too, not many cars can tangle with a deer and live to tell about it.
A herd of deer crossed our path yesterday on our way back from the vet. I tried to get a picture but Sampson decided to roo at them and they took off. 🙂
That sounds scary! I don’t like seeing herds. Good thing Sampson scared them off!