Vehicle Avoids Deer, Winds Up In River

Driving Michigan roads is tough enough in the winter, but throw a deer into the mix or any animal for that matter and things can get tricky.

What I have learned from driving in Michigan all these years is that no matter what time of day or what time of year it is, there is always a chance for a deer to run out in front of your vehicle. This holds true even if you are near a city.

According to WOOD, Monday, January 25, a 25-year-old woman was driving around 10 a.m. in Southwest Michigan and wound up in the St. Joseph River while trying to avoid slamming into a deer that ran out in front of her car.

It is bad enough crashing a vehicle but holy cow, landing in a river would have to freak anybody out, especially this time of year when it is freezing cold out.

The woman was heading down East River Road in Buchanan Township when a deer popped out causing her to swerve and that is when things got ugly. She wound up hitting a utility pole then rammed into a couple of trees, then the car went off the bank and landed on its roof in the St. Joseph River.

The Michigan State Police stated that because the vehicle landed on its roof, it had caved in trapped the woman inside the vehicle. Man what a scary thought. Luckily the woman didn't land in very deep water and that allowed time for emergency workers to get on the scene to get her out.

The woman was hauled off to the hospital but the real good news is she only sustained non-life-threatening injuries and will be ok. This had to be a horrific experience for the young driver. She was the only person traveling in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

According to the Michigan State Police, it is important to try and slow down when an animal jumps into the road rather than swerve to avoid hitting the animal. Swerving creates so many possibilities of things that can go wrong. The idea is to slow down as quickly as possible but not slamming your breaks, that can cause even more problems. Swerving can cause a crash like it did in this woman's situation plus you could go into the other lane causing a head on collision or for someone else to swerve and crash. Your chance of survival by hitting the animal are much higher than hitting another vehicle or object.

Watch out for the damn deer.