Video: Deer Goes Airborne, Recovers Perfectly after Vehicle Collision
OutdoorHub Reporters 12.02.15
Deer are responsible for thousands of vehicle collisions every year, making the rut one of the most hazardous periods for North American motorists. It’s pretty dangerous for the deer as well. Sometimes, however, deer are more resilient than they look.
On Tuesday, the Kenton County Police Department in Kentucky posted a video of one of its officers smacking a deer with his cruiser. Surprisingly, the animal manages to kick up into a run while skidding off the shoulder. It may not have exactly landed on its feet, but it certainly did dismount with style.
“We think this video is a pretty good training video on how to react when a four-legged furry friend attempts to abruptly cross your path,” the department wrote on its Facebook. “Officer Pittaluga applied his brakes and steered away from the deer in a controlled manner. Although he didn’t manage to avoid the collision, he did maintain control of his vehicle throughout the entire incident, even when the large (but apparently agile and acrobatically trained) deer was performing a Triple Axel over the hood of his cruiser.”
The department reported that the officer was unharmed and that there was only minor damage to the cruiser. The deer also appeared to be in decent shape, although it may have one nasty bruise to look forward to.
As always, remember that in the event of an unavoidable collision, experts advise braking firmly and bringing your vehicle to a controlled stop instead of swerving. Pull off the road, turn on your emergency flashers, and be cautious of other traffic before you inspect the animal or your own vehicle.
Deer CollisionOver the weekend, Officer Pittaluga encountered a large deer while driving on Decoursey Pike through Visalia. The encounter was less than cordial and ended as abruptly as it began. We think this video is a pretty good training video on how to react when a four-legged furry friend attempts to abruptly cross your path. Officer Pittaluga applied his brakes and steered away from the deer in a controlled manner. Although he didn’t manage to avoid the collision, he did maintain control of his vehicle throughout the entire incident, even when the large (but apparently agile and acrobatically trained) deer was performing a Triple Axel over the hood of his cruiser. Our officer was unharmed but the cruiser did sustain some damage. As for the deer, he appeared to brush off the incident before quickly running away into the woods. We did place a call to Santa just to be sure this deer didn’t belong to him (we would hate to end up on the naughty list). He was quick to point out that he employs reindeer and that, although this deer did appear to fly, it was not a reindeer (we still aren’t clear whether we will be making the nice list or not).
Posted by Kenton County Police Department on Tuesday, December 1, 2015
