The other night I had a sudden and unfortunate encounter with a deer. A big male (antlered) emerged in a flash from the woods on my right, attempting to cross the road. Luckily I was going only 30-35 on a winding industrial road. I had zero reaction time - he was in my headlight and then BANG. The slope of my hood was probably a good thing (if I were in an SUV he would have been venison). My car sustained a cracked headlight, a dented fender, a gash in the autobahnd film and blood on the door (ugh). The deer suffered worse I'm sure, but it never fell and ran off into the woods. Definitely shook me up. I'll probably have the fender and light assembly replaced, and also repaint the hood (which had a hundred small paint chips already as noted earlier).

As many have said when talking about vehicle-animal collisions, "it could have been a lot worse." Amen.

 

Wow. I collided with a deer myself a few years back with my Maxima. When I hit the deer I was going probably 50-60mph, and it was at night on the highway. I hit him with my right front corner as you did, but he got launched into the air and my car suffered far worse than yours.
And today I almost had a run in with two wild turkeys crossing the road on a residential street in a 35mph zone. The road was wet and I as I approached the turkeys they started running further into my lane! They turned around at the last second and I avoided them, but geez...these crazy wild animals.
It just goes to show you...drive cautious and expect the unexpected.
You are lucky the didn't go through your windshield, and the damage is superficial. Hopefully you're insurance will take care of it and you know a reputable body shop.

Good luck

 

Thank god the NRA is around or there would be countless more accounts of Deer vs Car incidents.

I had a deer hit my old car once. Couldn't see the scratch, dent, or anything but none-the-less my passenger door wouldn't open.

And as far as animals go yes Turkeys are among the worst for getting out of the way. Fully grown Turkeys have few fears of any preditors.

 

Man I can't even imagine something like that...that goodness I live in cali. At most we run over opossums.

 

so glad i left the midwest and moved to california =)

no deers here!!

 

good thing you didn't kill bambi's mother. I cried when I first saw that.

 

I have nearly the same damage as you from hitting a deer a month or two ago. My dent is a little bigger, but it's the only damage on my car. It's on the passanger side fender right behind the headlight. I'm s glad it didn';t damage the light at all.

I was driving at 4 in the morning on the highway and didn't have my highbeams on because there were a few drivers on the other side of the road. I had the Cruise set at 62 and saw the deer standing in the middle of the road when it was too late. I hit the brakes and got down to 40 and just clipped him. He's lucky he was able to run off because if he was on the ground I would have probably done a burnout on his face and melted his head!!!!! Damn I hate deer so much. And here they are so dumb that they just stand in the middle of the road. I had a near miss a few months before when a deer was just standing in the highway.

 

I hate deers lol

 

sorry to hear about the damage but it could be worse

 

that really sucks since you don't have evidence (besides blood) that a deer hit you. i was on a highway (about 70 mph) in the sticks with my wife. it was daylight and i saw something on the road. looked like someone laying down, holding their arm straight in the air. i was like wtf? so i slowed down considerably and saw it was a black lab eating some roadkill. he moved onto the side of the road closer to the tree line, so i sped back up. just as i was about to pass him, he jumped into my right corner and i think i ran him over. i stopped and looked in my rearview but he darted into the woods. i felt so bad.

 

Another true retard of todays society.

 

My insurance company (10 years, 3 cars, zero claims) has no issues with the fact that it was a deer vs a car, and they aren't quesioning that. In Mass. where I live if you file a claim above $500 where you're at fault due to hitting a car or stationary object (like a wall) your insurance rates will increase due to surcharges. In this case it falls under my comprehensive coverage, whch does not result in any surcharges.

That said, the adjuster only wrote up a $650 damage appraisal (and paid me $150 after $500 deductible!). He thought the fender could be repaired, no hood repainting, and autobahnd replacement only as needed. He also totally missed including the headlight! My local body shop has been great - they are dealing with the insurance co. directly, and they say they'll get me a new headlight, new fender, repainting fender and half the hood (to match - I'll pay myself for the whole hood to be done), and all the clear film. It's a lesson in the benefits of letting the body shop negotiate directly with the insurance co.

 

Hit a few deer and pay a few thousand dollars for repairs, THEN TALK!

 

Glad to see you ok