MSHP says recent summer deer vehicle crashes are not ‘out of the ordinary’
Marie Moyer
COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ)
Despite deer season starting up next month in Missouri, deer have been making their presence known during the month of August. First responders have reported at least four serious vehicle crashes involving deer since the start of the month.
The crashes include a Pettis County Man driving a truck and three separate motorcycle crashes in Montgomery City and Boone and Cole County, leaving a woman, a man and one other motorcyclist with serious injuries.
A 2023 Deer Season Summary and Population report by the Missouri Department of Conservation found that the deer population has been increasing in both the Ozark and Central regions, with deer harvest increasing by 28% and 5% from 2022, respectively.
ABC 17 News spoke with multiple people in Columbia. Four people said that they have not seen a noticeable number of deer this summer, while five others said they commonly see deer on back roads or on the side of major highways. One person said they’ve seen large groups of deer in the yards of their neighborhood.
“I feel like I’ve just seen more deer recently,” University of Missouri student Ella Vuichard said.
Lieutenant Kyle Green with the Missouri State Highway Parol said in a statement to ABC 17 News that the recent crashes “are not out of the ordinary,” and the MSHP responds to deer crashes every week throughout the year.
In 2023, the MSHP reported that Missouri had consistently ranked 10th to 15th in the country in deer-related car accidents each year. There were a total of 3,591 crashes with deer with four deaths and 420 injuries reported that year.
Co-owner and mechanic of Tiger Auto Repairs and Sales, Castle Mahmood has seen a lot of deer-related accidents, both during car repairs and his own personal vehicles. Mahmood adds that most crashes he sees happen in the fall and winter.
“If its small without antlers, it’ll be damaging the bumper, hood, fender and if it’s a big one with big antlers, it could go through the windshield and kill the driver because I’ve seen those too,” Mahmood said.
Green said that deer are most active during sunrise and sunset in both rural and city areas. He recommends keeping an eye out when driving and not swerving if a deer is on the road. MoDoT also recommends being on guard after seeing a deer in case there are others.
“Many times the crashes that result from a person swerving are more severe than just hitting the deer,” Green said.
Of the people ABC 17 News spoke with, five people said that they are mindful of deer all the time when driving, regardless of the season.
“My old car, I had smoked a deer, it was very unfortunate, it was right next to my house, but yeah, it was kind of scary. Now I watch out for deer a lot more,” Columbia visitor Dylan Jacobs said.
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