We have noted before that November is a dangerous month for car-deer collisions in Pennsylvania, and that point was reinforced this weekend when a young woman was rendered unconscious after her car struck a deer on the Warm Springs Road just outside Chambersburg.
She was driving on Warm Springs Road around 7 pm on Saturday when the deer jumped across the road. The deer hit her in the head after it crashed through the windshield and knocked her out. She was very fortunate, in that her passenger was able to grab the steering wheel of the vehicle.
Her foot was apparently jammed on the accelerator and the car went off the road, across a soybean field, careened up an embankment, went airborne for 15 feet, crossed a parking lot and eventually stopped against a safety post.
The woman driver was treated and discharged the next day from the hospital, but she should consider herself very lucky. Her vehicle could have been struck head-on as it crossed the southbound lane on Warm Springs Road, or she could have hit large tree or utility pole. If she had been travelling fast enough, the impact of the deer through the windshield could have killed her.
This crash should serve as a reminder that areas like the Warm Springs Road are prime areas for deer activity, with clumps of trees and open fields, where there may be residual crops providing forage for the deer.
Watch the sides of the road for the telltale glowing eyes and slow down. This accident demonstrates the wild ride such a collision can cause and how lucky the two motorists were to escape with only minor injuries.
Heraldmailmedia.com, “Motorist knocked unconscious by deer in Pa.,” November 16, 2014