WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – It’s the peak season for deer-involved car crashes in Kansas, a situation many drivers dread. For one Kansas couple, this became a reality and an unforgettable encounter.
“We were in two different vehicles, driving in two different directions, and we managed to hit the same deer,” Gina Morgan, who was involved in a deer crash, recently told Nexstar’s KSNW.
When the deer hit Gina’s car, it was thrown across the road in front of a car traveling in the opposite direction, driven by none other than her husband, Ronnie.
“When she told me she hit a deer, I’m like, ‘There’s not another chance that there was not the same deer.’ So I was like, ‘Yeah, I hit the same deer,'” said Ronnie Morgan.
The couple says the damage to Gina’s vehicle cost $6,000. Ronnie’s car, equipped with a push bar, took a lighter hit.
You can see the damage done to Gina’s car below.
“I think a deer was running pretty hard when it hit the side of that front left fender because it, I mean, it really…you see in the pictures, it damaged it pretty bad,” said Ronnie.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says these types of crashes are common during deer breeding season.
“It’s considered always safer to strike the animal than to try to avoid it when we don’t have a lot of injury or fatality crashes involving deer. But most of the ones that we do, injury-wise, is because someone took an avoidance maneuver and lost control of the car,” said Trooper Tod Hileman, a public resource officer for Kansas Highway Patrol.
Gina and Ronnie are just grateful to be alive and for this reminder to stay vigilant.
“It’s amazing how much damage, you know, a hit like that can do. And ours was minimal compared to a lot of hits,” said Gina.
Trooper Hileman also told KSNW that October through December are the peak months for these types of accidents, and November sees the highest number of deer-vehicle crashes every year. He adds that the numbers start to decline as December approaches.
If you do come face to face with a deer on the road, Trooper Hileman has advice.
“I would brake. You know, if you’re going to swerve and do an avoidance maneuver, it’s best if you do it under 40 miles per hour,” said Trooper Hileman. If you do hit a deer, he recommends drivers “pull off the road, hazards on, put their flashers on and make sure that they’re safe. Stay in their vehicle. Give us a call or call 911.”
Trooper Hileman also said wearing a seat belt is always important, especially during this peak crash time.
The next uptick of deer crashes will happen starting in May of next year.
