Stoopid Deer!

Well, finally found my USB cable so I could download the ugly pictures of the carnage from my camera...Anyway, Friday night at approximately 10:15 PM EDT I was sideswiped by a deer! Driving along, going into a sweeping right curve and then BLAM, the loudest(well, not quite but it was damn loud!) banging sound..I had just been doing a mirror scan(habit picked up from driving the semi- a good habit I believe)However this time, the time I was doing the mirror scan was when the deer decided to dart across the road, as I didn't see the bastidge!..Also, from my years of driving a semi, that sound means one thing- a blown tire..How could that be? I did a walk around of my car before I left the terminal and the tires looked fine...Well, pull over about 1/4 mile away to survey the damage..Couldn't open the door..Uh-oh..What the? So I push harder, and the door creaks open..I get out and lo and behold the pictures tell the story...

Found out insurance company doesn't require a police report(even though I had them come to the scene)..The officer that came determined immediately that I had hit a deer..I didn't know exactly that that was what I hit but thought so..When I had opened the door a chunk of meat fell to the ground that had been wedged in between the doors..Another officer went to the point of impact and reported that the deer was still alive!:eyepop:Once the police cleared me, I found the door wouldn't shut completely..Wonderful..But vehicle was still drivable..

So, "enjoy" the pictures of what used to be a fairly pristine 2004 Dodge Durango driver side...Goes into the body shop tomorrow morning..Sucks having this happen on a Friday night going into a holiday weekend

OUCH!

Thank God your ok, not that the deer went up the hood and through the windshield!

Eric1 said:

OUCH!

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Got any BaddAzz bandaidzz?LOL

goldlizard said:

Thank God your ok, not that the deer went up the hood and through the windshield!

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Yeah..I can be thankful that it wasn't a frontal impact and the deer becoming an uninvited passenger!

Pales in comparison to Eric's mishap here, however...

Yes, this is true, You both had your Guardian Angels with you!!!
God Bless

That almost happen to me last W/E. A deer ran/jumped out in front of me early in the AM on my way to an event. Scared the &h!t out of me!

Thank god you are okay and an equal amount of thanks for the fact it was not a moose.

You're one lucky dood...I've been in a crash where it didn't hit the side...head on :y: <-- basically describes my facial expression... luckily it was just me and my friend in the front, usually the ones in the back get more of the hit...car was totaled though.

lucky it survived. because where I am from if you kill it you gotta eat it LOL

Glad you are ok Jon!

Frontal collision with one of those creatures a few months back -- repair and rental bill nearly $9500!

Glad you are not hurt.

Wow that a lot of damage. Glad you are ok.

Got a call from the insurance adjuster..Price of repairs he told me was ~$3900..With a- now get this, it is so unrealistic to be laughable- estimated repair time of 16 days!:eyepop: Really? I don't think so, since about an hour later I got a call from the repair shop(went to voicemail as I was in a 'no service' area whilst driving) that tear down was mostly complete, parts being ordered and initial parts should be here today...Will need to call them back to get a more firm length of repairs though..I have a rental, and yeah, it's a nice vehicle, it is not mine and is small..A Toyota Corolla..When I drive it it is almost as if I am sitting on the pavement...Can't wait til MY vehicle is done!

I used to be a tow truck driver, I've picked up a lot of cars that hit deer. Pretty extensive damage when hit head-on. One I picked up was a BMW. The front end was demolished, blood and bits of fur stuck in places here and there (the deer didn't look too good, either). I picked it up and the owner rode with me as we took it to the BMW dealer's shop. It was after hours on a Thursday evening, so we dropped it off outside the shop.

He said "Well, the shop guys will be surprised to see this car sitting here tomorrow." I asked why, and he said "Because I just picked it up this morning after having it repaired from hitting another deer two weeks ago."

I came close to hitting a deer on my motorcycle a couple of years ago. I was riding a country road at night, and I saw a blur of motion to my right. I turned to look and a deer was running right alongside me. The headlight had just enough side illumination that I could see the front half of him clearly. He was so close I could have reached out and touched him. I was about to hit the brakes when he suddenly turned right and went bounding off through the bushes.

Lucky for me he decided to go right instead of left. He would have slammed right into me. That wouldn't have been pretty.

Hit 2 with my Mustang (not at the same time). Officer showed up asked for my stuff. Looking down in my wallet the officer found the deer on the side still kicking. Didn't know he was looking for the deer and decided to shoot it about 50 feet from me. the car had front end damage, I had rear end damage "Dude!! tell me you are going to discharge you gun!!" Scared the heck out of me.

well, a little update..Body repairs have been done on the car. And man does it looks nice! Unfortunately I haven't taken any pictures of it yet..Had one minor issue with some wind noise in the drivers door(which was replaced)..Shop was on it and got it fixed..Now the vehicle has an electrical problem..With the 5.7liter motor it has an Electronic Throttle Control and that is what is acting up. Won't allow the transmission to go into overdrive, sometime makes the throttle 'stick' at like 1200 RPM and will occasionally run extremely rough(almost like it is about to stall)..Goes into the Chrysler dealership tomorrow to go on the diagnostic machine..HOPING that the tech can 'play along' and indicate that it could have been caused by the impact, that way the insurance can cover it..If not, guess I will be looking at about a $300 bill..Ugh..But she sure does look PRETTY! Will try and take and post a couple of pictures come Tuesday..

Oh DEER me....

Seriously that's not too bad. I've seen plenty of head-on's with deer and usually those vehicles are written off.

As for the electrical, wife is having similar issues (electrical) with her Caravan. Got a bit dinged up, got it fixed, and now the cruise, airbags, and horn doesn't work. Runs fine, but......

A few years back I got a 12:15 AM call from my Mother-in-law that started out:
" Ed, this is Helen Ann...." . Since she goes by "Herbie", I knew it was BAD NEWS. They were traveling on US 40 about 50 miles west of Indianapolis when they hit a deer. When I found them they finally had to pull off the road and park due to loss of transmission fluid. It was a Head On impact, but they were driving their Ford Expedition! It didn't just hit Bambi, It went OVER Bambi! There was fir and venison burger everywhere, but if they hadn't nicked the line from the transmission fluid cooling system they would have been able to make it home.

I like animals, and I don't like to see them suffer, and I'm sure Bambi never felt a thing.
I like animals, but better on the barbecue grill than the car grill.

Evil Ed

Hitting a deer with a car is bad enough, last week a friends father hit a deer with his airplane. He's ok but the plane not so good.

https://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Pilot-Crashes-into-Deer-on-Vinton-Airports-Runway-211121481.html

Pantherjon said:

Yeah..I can be thankful that it wasn't a frontal impact and the deer becoming an uninvited passenger!

Pales in comparison to Eric's mishap here, however...

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Like the baby one did on a bus a few weeks ago. Went straight through the bus's windshield and ran around all crazy until she got out and was fine.

Well, vehicle went into the shop at the dealership today(well, yesterday, Monday)..Haven't heard anything.Hopefully it will be something the insurance will pick up..Will find out later today, have to go to the dealership on other business matter- paper work on my daughters new car:eyeroll: I think I am ill..LOL..Those that 'know' me will 'get it'..lol

Well, the saga continues...Dealership scoped out the problem..Something to do with the brake pedal that was causing the Electronic Throttle Control to go bonkers..weird..Anyway, they told the body shop that the part would take them 4-6 days to get.Body shop said our supplier could get it to them in 2.So, body shop got the part number and ordered the part.Got it as quickly as promised.HOWEVER, Dodge had a renumbering of the parts, so the part # on the box was the correct one but the PART itself was the wrong one..So, dealership,after numerous calls to -of all places:shocked face here: Detroit, found the CORRECT part number and have it ordered and it SHOULD be here Thursday. So, HOPEFULLY, I will be back in my ride by Friday. Meanwhile I went to the body repair shop and got this scoop. Mentioned that my daughter was a little put out by this as I had been using her car to go to and from work. Well, they arranged, and insurance company approved, to put in another rental car at no cost to me. This one is NICE however..LOL..They put me in a 2013 Chrysler 200 LIMITED..Man is it a nice car!

So, come Friday I will have the Durango back..Weird how it has now been a month since that dumb deer ran into me..Yeah, it has been a long time, but I am still happy and satisfied with the quality of service I have received from all parties, especially the body repair shop.

BTW, here is a picture of my daughters' car. Got it 2 weeks ago today. TV spots are right, it IS a FUN car to drive!
it is a 2013 Dodge Dart if you haven't guessed.

Pantherjon said:

So, HOPEFULLY, I will be back in my ride by Friday.

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Just in time to hit another...

Rocketjunkie said:

Just in time to hit another...

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Very funny, Tom, very funny!..IF that does happen I am hoping the deer would get the right side now..Symmetry, ya know..

Got the call while I was at work that my Durango was done. With one minor thing..Seems when they were 'buttoning things up' at the body shop they damaged the wind deflector on the drivers door..The type I had/have are the 'in channel' ones and it seems the ones for my year/model are discontinued..They have a new set on order that will be in on Tuesday for them to put on..

So, here are a few pictures of the finished job..I think it looks fantastic!

Looks good to me. Final inspection will occur on July 13

Leo said:

Looks good to me. Final inspection will occur on July 13

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Unfortunately I won't be at the July launch Gut fliegen!

Pantherjon said:

Unfortunately I won't be at the July launch Gut fliegen!

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Bummer