Doh! A Deer!...and a Rice Rocket

This morning I had the mixed experience of witnessing a collision between a low-flying sport bike and a small deer. I say mixed, because after the horrifyingly spectacular collision and disintegration of the bike, and watching the rider slide and roll about 75 yards down Jersey road, I had the good fortune to find the young man only slightly injured.

I was headed south away from the house around 6:30 this morning, when I saw one very bright headlight come up behind me. When the double yellow line turned to dashed, the bike pulled out to pass. About the time he was to the end of what I could see in my headlights, I saw the deer crossing the road from the right. He saw it too, but was a lot closer and moving a lot faster than I. He center-punched the deer without having time to hit his brakes. There was an explosion of fur, faring, and flashes of sparks from the bike skidding down the road. The bike traveled about 100 yards into the woods on the right side of the road and knocked down a couple of dead trees before it came to rest.

The rider rolled, slid and flipped about 1/3 of that distance and came to a stop just off the right shoulder of the road. The deer was gutted and went to the left shoulder. There were quite a few bike and deer bits left in the middle of the road.

I stopped, jumped out of the Jeep and approached rider, expecting to find him dead or severely injured. He was curled up in a ball, and moving, so I asked him how badly he was hurt as I was dialing 911. He said he didn't know, and I told him not to try to move. By the time the Sheriff's deputy showed up, he had decided that he was not dead, had nothing broken, and did not want an ambulance. His injuries, other than to his pride, were a slight case of road rash on his right knee and knuckles, a leather jacket trying to imitate suede, and a split, skinned, and otherwise trashed helmet. He griped that it was a $400 brain bucket, and I pointed out that what he had in it during the wreck was probably worth every penny of it.

All in all, he was a very lucky young man.

Like they used to say on Hill Street Blues, Be careful out there.

You never know when God will throw a deer at you. :)