Deer Hunter - Wild Rose Miata Club

Wild Rose Miata Club
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

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Steve Goes Deer Hunting

I hit a deer leaving the Hs' lake-side barbeque at dusk last night. I was at the head of a column of about five or six Miatas, rounding a bend at about 5 to 10 km/h under the posted speed limit when a deer ran across the road right in front of me. I simultaneously braked hard and steered to the left, but it came to a full-stop in the middle of the road, and I hit him hard (about 60-65 km/h) in its hind quarters. BIG CRUNCH! - and my windshield turned opaque and covered me with glass.

you've heard of one-eyed bandits?

Richard & Brenda were directly behind me. They said the deer must have tumbled 20 to 25 feet in the air and went into the ditch. Seems I took the legs out from under it, and the full weight of its body hit the windshield header, and sailed over the rest of the car. Total damage: One dead deer (a really nice looking four-point buck, poor thing), one mashed hood, left headlight bucket and fender; smashed, but still intact windshield; dented windshield header; and a slightly torn soft-top. Nose looks to be OK, but will bare closer examination in the light. I also sport a rather bizarre fur-lined look around the edges of the windshield.

left front quarter

Other than a few aches, I'm OK. The airbag didn't pop, but my seatbelt prevented any serious injury. I'm lucky it was a sub-one thousand pound buck and not a 2000 plus pound moose. Cars hitting those spindly-legged creatures tend to take them out at the knees, while the carcass enters the cockpit, causing bigtime carnage and usually a fatality or two (not counting the moose itself).

left windshield

Anyway, thanks for letting me cry on your collective shoulders, and a BIG thanks to those Mazda engineers for designing a properly strong windshield header. It most likely saved my life last night.

passenger side

Thanks again, John & Ebeline, for a great evening. Really!

Steven S

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