Pennsylvanians file more motor vehicle accident claims involving animals than residents of almost any other state, according to recently-released insurance company data; a statistic that is unlikely to surprise the law enforcement officers who must frequently respond to reports of “car vs. deer” crashes throughout much of the area.
The number of deer strikes often spikes in the fall, but the animals are also active during the late summer months, as state troopers who patrol rural parts of upper Bucks County know all too well.
Just recently, two separate accidents near Lake Nockamixon disabled the vehicles that struck the deer, state police at the Dublin barracks reported in recently-released accident summaries.
Police said that on Aug. 31, a northbound Pennsburg man struck a deer on Mountain View Drive (Rt. 563) north of its intersection with Brennan Road in Nockamixon Township.
The report indicated that the accident happened at 5:55 a.m. and involved a 2017 Nissan Altima, which police said was damaged when the 21-year-old man driving it hit the deer head-on.
Just over a week later, early on the morning of Sept. 8, police said a similar accident happened nearby in the 2500 block of Mountain View Drive, Nockamixon Township.
Police said a 51-year-old Quakertown man was traveling north in a 2008 Mini Cooper when he struck a deer at 5:03 a.m.
The crash report indicated that the man was able to pull over to the shoulder, where the vehicle was later picked up by a towing company.
Neither driver was injured as a result of the accident in which he was involved, police said.
Both crashes happened near the intersection of Rt. 412 and Rt. 563 in Ottsville.
