Mum's 'lucky' escape after van flips in deer crash

A pregnant woman whose van was written off after two deer jumped in front of her said she was "extremely lucky".

Tyler O'Brien from Coleford was driving to work in January when the deer ran into her van in Worrall Hill, causing it to flip over twice.

Ian Harvey, a wildlife manager, said while the "impact of deer, nationally, is quite a big issue", incidents are under-recorded.

The RSPCA said drivers should report collisions with deer to the police and try to remember to record the incident on the Deer Aware website.

Ms O'Brien said the impact of the deer running into the driver's side of her van spun the vehicle around.

"I then clipped the mud and it flipped the vehicle over twice and dragged me about 50 metres down the road on my roof before landing on my driver's side in a ditch," she said.

Ms O'Brien's colleague, an off-duty fireman, was nearby and he was able to help her climb through the windscreen.

Her partner was working away in Switzerland at the time, so a colleague took her to hospital to be checked over.

"I was so lucky that I was doing the speed limit, and the fact the airbag didn't go off because I was three or four months pregnant at the time," Ms O'Brien said.

"Otherwise, I think it would have been a different story because the airbags would have gone straight into my tummy."

Ms O'Brien said she is "definitely more cautious now" following the crash, which the deer ran away from.

"On my drive to work, I'm constantly making sure that everything's clear and at night, I'm a lot more observant," she said.

Ian Harvey, Forestry England's wildlife manager for west England, is based in the Forest of Dean.

He said fallow deer are "the main species of deer" in the area, and often travel in groups.

"Everything from two or three, to a dozen or so," he said.

"The impact of deer on vehicles nationally is quite a big issue, but probably under recorded because there's not a requirement from your insurance company... they just lump it as animal related."

Despite this, Mr Harvey said his team attended 45 road traffic incidents involving deer last year, and 54 involving wild boar, which can inflict "serious damage" to a vehicle.

The RSPCA said more than 74,000 collisions involving deer occur every year and "the majority of which sadly result in the deer's death".

"This is not only a significant animal welfare problem but it can also be extremely dangerous for drivers and passengers too," it added.

"Always report any deer-vehicle collisions to the police and try to remember to record the incident at www.deeraware.com."

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