Deer crashes up in Minnesota, western Wisconsin as nights grow longer

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — The number of deer crashes in Minnesota and western Wisconsin is up right now. 

In a couple of cases, the crashes have been fatal. Last week, a 69-year-old Hastings man was hit and killed by another driver. It happened after he was trying to remove a deer he hit from a Minnesota roadway. 

The Minnesota State Patrol says they’ve received nearly 2,800 calls for animals in the roadway so far this year.  It’s at a pace similar to last year. 

At Fix Auto Collision in Maple Grove, Taggert Feehan is working on a vehicle with minor damage. It’s an easier job compared to other cars and trucks that have come in recently — especially those that have collided with deer. 

“It’s really amazing what a deer or an animal can do if you hit them at a high enough speed,” said Taggert.

It is a major reason why this is their busiest time of year. 

“When the clocks go back, now we are driving in the dark in the morning and we are driving in the dark in the evening,” said Matt Feehan, owner of Fix Auto. 

Post-harvest, animals have also lost a majority of their coverage so they’re on the move and they’re unpredictable. Drivers have told Feehan that they’ve seen them come from woods, the ditch even from up above. 

“The one that went through the windshield, it actually jumped off a bridge. Somebody was driving under the bridge, and it came landing. They didn’t see it coming it fell literally out of the sky,” Feehan said. 

Feehan said vehicle damage can be extensive, ranging anywhere from $1,000 up to $15,000 or more. 

“Maybe the deer hits here but that’s only the chest and then maybe the back swings around, and then as you are driving, it bounces all the way down the side,” Feehan said.

The best thing you can do to avoid these kinds of crashes is to make sure your headlights are clean, your tires have plenty of tread and, of course, you want to keep your head on a swivel — especially at night.

The state patrol said you shouldn’t swerve to avoid a deer. Swerving can cause you to veer into oncoming traffic. 

“It’s an abrupt and scary situation for anyone driving a car,” Feehan said.

The state patrol also wants to remind drivers that deer are most active between 6-9 p.m.