Published: November 28, 2007 08:23 am      

Trophy buck causes wreck

200-pound, 12-pointer largest one Trooper has seen in his 10 years with North Carolina State Highway Patrol

Tuesday, November 27, 2007 — Like many North Carolina State Highway Patrol Troopers this time of year, when Trooper S.R. Palmer arrived to investigate a deer-vehicle collision Saturday night, he had a pretty good idea what he’d find.

However, on this particular occasion, what he found was a bit of a surprise, it was not just an average deer, but a 200-pound 12-point trophy whitetail buck that caused the wreck.

In fact, Palmer said the deer, which had a rack measuring about 20 inches, was the largest he’d seen struck by a vehicle, or in person, in his 10 years as a Trooper.

Palmer reported the buck caused extensive damage to the vehicle that struck it, a 2003 SUV that, as it happened, was being driven by an avid sportsman returning from an evening hunt.

Luckily, only the deer suffered injuries in the collision.

“He kept it,” Palmer said.

“He was more excited about the deer than he was concerned about the damage to his truck.

“He said, ‘You spend a lifetime hunting for something like that, then you hit it on the way home.’”

After hunting nearly all day in southern Stanly County, the sportsman started toward home empty handed.

As he drove, he saw a doe fleeting across the road.

But before he could reduce his speed by much, the buck darted into the lane behind the doe and directly into the path of the SUV.

The man told Palmer about five passers-by had stopped to photograph the impressive animal.

Troopers investigating deer-vehicle collisions in Stanly County, which continue to rack up, about 100 since October, encourage motorists to stay alert on the roads.

“Everybody’s been talking about that deer,” Palmer said.

“It’s an interesting situation and we can say that because no one was hurt, but it also reiterates how these kinds of collisions are common right now and motorists should be constantly aware of the potential for trouble.”



Jay Almond can be contacted by email at snaponline21@yahoo.com.