A stunned deer that was involved in a car accident Friday night stood in the roadway for almost 25 minutes before a deputy picked up the animal and moved it to safety.
The scene in Huron County plays out on patrol car video released by the Sheriff’s Office.
Huron County Sheriff Deputy Ryan Swartz responded to the accident call in Dwight Township. The doe, which had survived being hit by a car, hadn’t moved from the roadway when he arrived at the scene, so he decided to move it out of the roadway to prevent another accident from happening.
In the video, Swartz walks up to the deer and touches it, but the animal doesn’t budge from its position in the middle of Hellems Road.
Swartz bends over, picks up the doe and carries it to the side of the road. Then he decides to take it to the opposite side of the road so it will be more difficult for the deer to run back into traffic, Sheriff Kelly Hanson said.
It takes the deer a few moments to run off.
Swartz estimated the deer was 80-pounds and said it was born this spring.
He said he’s handled about 900 car accidents involving deer over his nearly 10-year career but has never seen one react to an accident the way this doe did.
“I figured it would run away when I got closer,†Swartz said. “It just stood there.â€
He said he would rather it live, but needed to get it off the road for safety. The deer was stunned at first but got its bearings and took off running in the field after a bit.
Today Swartz took the day off to go deer hunting.
“It’s pretty ironic, huh,†he said.
Hanson said he doesn’t recommend moving a deer, but acknowledged Swartz has many years of experience with deer and said the other option was to euthanize the animal.
“Fortunately his way worked out,†he said.
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