LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A Plymouth councilman is warning drivers to be extra careful on the road after a near-death experience this weekend. He was making a daily commute to work on a busy expressway when a deer collided with his SUV.
"Thank God I wasn't knocked out or anything like that because I would not have survived," said Plymouth Councilman Adam Morehart.
Morehart was headed to work Saturday morning on the Cross Valley Expressway when, in an instant, a four-point buck leaped over a divider and directly into the path of his SUV.
"I never expected that to happen. It's just one of those fluke things," Morehart stated.
Morehart says there was no way he could avoid slamming into the animal.
His airbags deployed and he coasted to the side of the road.
While in the SUV and on the phone with OnStar, he noticed an orange glow under the hood.
Realizing it was fire, he immediately got out. In a matter of minutes, the car was fully engulfed in flames.
"It was a crazy time just watching my car there burn up and knowing that it could've been so much worse but I'm thankful it wasn't," Morehart added.
"I don't think I've ever heard or seen of that happening," Pennsylvania Game Commission Lieutenant Aaron Morrow said.
Morrow says in 2023/24, the commonwealth led the country in deer-vehicle collisions.
He says Pennsylvania has a very healthy deer population and a word of caution: Fall is their breeding season and they are on the move.
Morehart says he's been in several deer-vehicle collisions but never one on a road this busy.
Lieutenant Morrow reminds drivers these types of crashes can happen anywhere.
He advises you to pay greater attention to your surroundings, be alert for deer crossing road signs, and come to a stop if you spot a deer.
If you cannot do that, at least slow down.
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"It's best not to swerve off the roadway and go into an embankment, into a tree, or telephone pole. That's going to be what you don't want to do. Hitting a deer, obviously no one wants to hit a deer, but it can be incidental," Lieutenant Morrow continued.
Morehart's crash took place at 5:30 a.m. Deer are known to be most active between 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and again 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Morehart says consider his experience a cautionary tale.
"People need to be careful when they are going through there because they're there and hitting a deer is not a very forgiving experience. It's like hitting a brick wall," Morehart added.
Morehart, other than feeling stiff and sore, says he is doing okay. However, his SUV is destroyed, along with several belongings including some early Christmas presents.
