Not a Good Start to the Week

This morning DD1 hit a deer on the way to school.  Not a good way to start the week. 

She called me immediately after it happened, once she had safely maneuvered the car to the side of the road.  After asking the three important questions:

1. Are you and your sister okay?
2. How badly damaged is the car?
3. Is the deer dead?

and getting 1. Yes, 2. not bad, I think, 3. I don't know, it ran off; I instructed her to call the sheriff to have someone out to make an accident report, and that I would be there asap.

I was very surprised and pleased to find a deputy at the scene when I arrived.  We are about 12 miles out from the county sheriff's station, and they no longer patrol the rural parts of the county.  So to have an officer on the scene within minutes, rather than closer to an hour for a car/deer accident with no injuries, was quite unusual.  The officer was also very nice and calming to DD1, telling her she did the right thing to not swerve, and that it wouldn't be the last deer she hits in her lifetime.  It's just one of those country living things, especially this time of the year.  That it was the deer's fault, and not her own.

Kudos to the county deputy.  I know DD1 will remember him and his words for a long, long time.

I'm happy to report that both of my daughters are fine, if a bit shaken by their unplanned contact with a flying deer.  Apparently it jumped up onto the road out of a low field on the passenger side, and then attempted to leap the car.  It landed on the hood, bounced onto the road, and kept running.  All of it happened in the blink of an eye.

The deer was not recovered.  It ran into a corn field, and, if it had any injuries, they left no evidence at the scene.  No blood, no hair, just a big dent in the hood of the car and deer slobber on the windshield.  Hope the deer lived, because it would be a shame for that meat to go to waste.

(Yes, we eat fresh roadkill.  Unless it gets busted up internally, car-harvested venison is perfectly tasty and safe to eat.  And it's only right to make use of it.)

The car seems to be fine too, minus the passenger side headlight and having a very large dent in the hood on the driver's side.  Nothing a little body work won't fix.

Sure hope the rest of the week goes better!