Staff Writer

Kayla Gregory says the deer that broke the windshield of her car and landed in her front seat Monday evening literally seemed to come out of nowhere.

Miss Gregory and her cousin, Trey Jett, both Union County High School seniors, were traveling on Lakeside Drive around 8 p.m. near the intersection with Arthur Boulevard when the deer leaped from the side of the roadway and crashed into the windshield of her 1995 Honda.

“It touched me, but it was mainly on Trey,” said Miss Gregory, 17. “We were eaten up with glass and we had deer hair all over us.”

Both Miss Gregory and Jett jumped out of the car. She had left the Honda in drive, but Jett jumped back in and pulled up the parking brake.

Both were taken to Wallace Thomson Hospital for treatment. Miss Gregory said this morning that although her head and neck still hurt, she and Jett both are fine.

“We were lucky,” she said.

Union Public Safety Department Chief Sam White said the accident was unusual in the way the deer ended up inside the car. With most vehicle/deer collisions, the damage is done to the outside of the vehicle.

White said motorists in the city need to be aware of the presence of deer. He pointed out that their numbers have increased in town over the years and with the drought many are in the city to nibble on watered and tended lawns. White said officers have been talking about the number of deer they see while on patrol and he estimated he saw a dozen deer early this morning when he was jogging in his neighborhood.

“This time of year the deer are really active,” White said. “They can tear a car up and potentially hurt somebody.”