Gruesome but True.

[Bogey]

We have all seen deer and other animals on the road that have been hit by cars and trucks.   Several days ago I actually saw a deer hit in real time.
My wife and I were returning from Atlanta after a business trip and we had hired a limo with a driver to take us to the Augusta , Georgia area.  I hate driving to Atanta or driving in Atlanta and avoid doing so when I can.   Headed East on I-20, we had just past Madison, Georgia at about 7-30 pm and were in a group of several other vechicles travelling at about 75 mph to 85 mph.   My wife said in a calm but warning voice, "DEER".     I looked up and saw a large doe leap in front on a large 350 Ford  4x4.  Everything appeared to happen in slow motion.  The truck centered the deer perfectly doing at least 75 mph.   None had a chance to apply brakes.  The deer litterally exploded.  Parts of the deer went everywhere.  Our limo blasted through a cloud of hair and what not.   The limo driver was as professional as a NASCAR driver.   We checked to see if anyone needed help, then proceeded on eastward.   The driver did drive at a slower speed for the rest of the trip, about 70 mph tops.   It was strange how it happened in slow motion.  I could see every detail.

[bnations]

Doesn't sound like much fun at all.  Glad no one was hurt.  Car/Animal encounters have the capacity to go pear-shaped very easily.

Now for a different outcome.  Here's what happens if you up the speed just a bit (warning graphic, and freaky)

http://forums.evolutionm.net/off-topic/322340-bmw-meets-deer-autobahn.html

Bobby

[North Pack]

Now THAT'S an implant, ...

[airiscool]

Deer strikes account for more than 50% of the yearly work load of the autobody shops around here .. and there are ALOT of body shops !!!!

Friend of mine's wife had a small doe crash through the windshield as it tried to leap over the car hood. It  ended up in the back seat rolling and kicking around with their two young ones in car seats. Lot of cuts and bruses, fortunately  none of them  seriously hurt.

Deer ran off when she pulled over and opened a back door.

Happens so often here there's a local joke about a guy standing before the judge on a chage of poaching. "But Judge that deer ran right in front of my truck and as you know, by State law I'm allowed to keep a road killed Deer."  The Judge says, "Yes, that's true of road kill Deer. But, you were 200 yards into the corn field when you hit it!!!".  

I'm guess by that,... not all the road kill here is an accident.....

Paul.

[RedFeather]

True story -

When I was a kid, we had a West Virginia family as next door neighbors. One day, my dad sees the father sitting on the steps (it was a duplex) with his head hanging down and looking glum. Dad asked what was the matter and the fellow gestured to his car parked out front, a mid-Sixties Chevy wagon with the right front fender and headlights crumpled. "I was coming back from visiting relatives and a deer jumped out into the road." He proceeded to tell "the rest of the story" -

A WVA state trooper came on the scene, saw the deer and damage, and asked him did he like deer? When the neighbor said yes, the trooper told him to take it and, being it was out of season, gave him a written statement to show to any cops or wardens who might challenge. He was stopped once more in WVA, two or three times on Skyline Drive (National Parks) and a couple more driving through Virginia. When he got home, he called a buddy who took the deer to have it dressed and cut up, splitting it with him. His wife had just made a nice venison dinner and they were sitting down to eat when his little ones all started bawling and crying in unison "Daddy killed Bambi! Daddy killed Bambi!" (Seems they had just seen the movie. while in WVA) The poor guy was waiting on the stoop for his friend to come and take back the rest of it.

A couple of years ago, my daughter and I saw the car in front of us clip a deer. He had just made a left out of our community onto a two lane road, driving a little Miata, when a small deer jumped up from the right hand shoulder and tried to make it across the road. It got clipped in the butt, but managed to limp off. Lucky for both, the guy was just starting to pick up speed. Surprisingly, it was a piebald deer that we had seen in the area the last year or two. Seemed to have survived, too, since we later saw it in a field.

[bnations]

I had a roommate in college who lived for the better part of one semester off of a road-killed deer he picked up on his way to the school for the start of classes.  He was the quintessential good ole boy raised on a farm in the Mississippi delta, and true to his upbringing he field-stripped it, tossed the animal in the trunk, and kept on driving.  Not wanting to let the meat spoil, he processed the thing right there in our kitchen.  Nothing against Mississippi rednecks, as I myself am a native of the Hospitality State, but we were taught to do the butchery outdoors.  The wisdom of said lesson was apparent the moment I opened the door.  In case you've ever wondered just how much blood is in your average sized doe, I"m here to tell you it's enough to cover virtually every square inch of a 4 BR apartment's kitchen.  He had beer, so it all worked out.

Another story, same roommate.  The deer fed him through the Christmas break, but after that he started having to buy his meat more regularly.  Being of limited means (the crops had not been kind the previous summer), he naturally set up a weekly poker game at our place.  Farmers are gamblers almost by definition, and he was a good one.  The winnings carried him through the rest of the year ... barely.  It's too bad that he found poker was more fun than studying with predictable results.  Never made it back to school.

 Good times :-)

[RedFeather]

Are farmers good gamblers? You betcha! Many years ago, my uncle used to hunt on a pea farm owned by two brothers down in rural Virginia. Having not much to do on the farm during the winter, they played a lot of cards. He said they made much more money from the hunters during late night poker games than they ever did by renting out the farm as a lodge during deer season. (The deer loved them peas.) Said those two could count ever card laid down and practically know what wasn't dealt.

[Bogey]

Since we are now talking about picking up Road Kill, let me tell you something that happened.   I had a pharmacist that worked in one of my stores that was a serious "Good ole Boy".   And he spent every spare  minute  in the woods of south Georgia hunting , fishing, and trapping.  Basically in that order.   One Morning I went to the store about 10 am and found him busily filling scripts.  While standing in the store, I heard  blood curdleing screams coming from the RX area,  I thought we were being robbed.  One heck of a scene was in progress, shouts, running around ec.   I  had my .45 hand as I approached the RX, and saw something streaking around the front of the store, followed by more screams and shouts.  As I got near the front , a large animal was racing around and jumping over counters.   It was the biggest, most PO'ed  Raccoon that I had ever seen.  Finally someone opened the front doors of the store and the animal was herded towards the doors and eventually made his escape.


To make a long storey short, it seems that the pharmacist while on his way in had spotted this coon laying on the side of the road.  He stopped and picked up the "dead " animal.  He figured he would store the animal in the refrigerator in the pharmacy and skin it when his shift ended in the afternoon.  The animal had been in the refrigerator for about 90 minutes when one of the clerks opened the door of the refrigerator to put her lunch up.   Thats when the coon bolted out and into the store.   It was funny afterwards but not at the time.

What made it  even funnier?,  the animal was ( or had been ) in a black plastic bag and had to fight his way out of the bag and was charging in every direction until it had shredded the bag.

[kp4att]

THE SAME HAPPEND HERE CLOSE TO MY HOUSE WITH A HORSE.... BUT THE STORY WAS DIFFERENT.  THE HORSE BODY WAS REMOVED FROM THE INSIDE OF THE CAR.   I DO NOT HAVE TO TELL YOU WHAT HAPPEN WITH THE DRIVER. THAT IS A SITUATION VERY DIFFICULT TO PREVENT.... SORRY / GERALD

[RedFeather]

Who in their right mind would pick up a dead raccoon to eat it? Cause of death??? Could be rabies, baby! Rabies is now so prevalent in Virginia that I will not touch a carcass with a ten foot pole.

[lil'feeby]

the adrenalin dump makes it seem like things slow down. Ask a fighter how things seem to them when they are engaged, and they will say the same things about the speed of events. pretty cool and interesting, the human body

[airiscool]

Red,
More folks than you know !!!

The farmer who's land my late hunting buddy and I hunted on, sold off the cows many years ago, worked a deal with a nieghbor to continue to hay the place, and got a job with the State Highway Dept truck crew that drives around these parts picking up roadkill.

He once told me, "You'd be surprised how often they get asked if there's anything worth taking from the truck that day.".

Paul.

[RedFeather]

Oooooo-we! Ya'll come down the holler!

http://www.pccocwv.com/festival.htm

Pick up some vittles on the way over (read that "run over", heh, heh)

http://www.foodreference.com/html/troadkill.html

I used to see these food cans in the Charleston, WVA airport gift shop that were marked "Double Yellow Line Brand Roadkill" with a picture of a dead possum curled up on the label. Said it was packed fresh by one of their many WVA Department of Highways mobile units. I think it had sand or pellets in the can. Passed on them a few times and then decided to buy some for jokes. Wouldn't you know it, they didn't have them anymore. Just the thing to put into the pantry for nosy guests.