ST. GEORGE — The driver of a Class C motor home traveling on Red Hills Parkway found himself staring at a deer in his windshield Saturday morning.
“Three of these big deer went right across,” the driver of the motor home, William Hoy of St. George, said. “They just went right in front of me. Went right through my windshield … There were three, and they were all about that size.”
The windshield of the motor home was smashed on the driver’s side. Aside from some minor cuts, Hoy was not injured. He was checked out by medical personnel from St. George Fire Department and released.
“(The deer) were apparently down on the golf course noshing all night,” St. George Police Officer Ken Childs said. “Decided to head back up to where there were less people. Just bad luck.”
The deer that hit Hoy’s windshield did not survive the impact, which occurred just after 9:40 a.m. The other two deer ran into the hills north of Red Hills Parkway.
“I’m fine,” Hoy said. “I got lucky … This is the first time it’s ever happened to me.”
What happens to the meat?
When a deer is killed on the highway, 95 percent of the time the meat is unusable, Division of Wildlife Resources spokesman Lynn Chamberlain said.
“Once they’re hit by a car, they’re really not salvageable as far as eating the meat goes,” Chamberlain said. “Almost all of the time, the meat is wasted.”
Chamberlain said the trauma causes an instant release of a hormone that renders the meat unpalatable.
Units from St. George Police and Fire Departments responded to the scene.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.
Emergency personnel at the scene where a deer jumped into a motor home's windshield Saturday morning on Red Hills Parkway. St. George, Utah, Sept. 2, 2017 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News William Hoy sits in his motor home Saturday after surviving a deer jumping into his windshield Saturday morning on Red Hills Parkway. St. George, Utah, Sept. 2, 2017 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News Emergency personnel at the scene where a deer jumped into a motor home's windshield Saturday morning on Red Hills Parkway. St. George, Utah, Sept. 2, 2017 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News Emergency personnel at the scene where a deer jumped into a motor home's windshield Saturday morning on Red Hills Parkway. St. George, Utah, Sept. 2, 2017 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News A deer jumped into a motor home's windshield Saturday morning on Red Hills Parkway. St. George, Utah, Sept. 2, 2017 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews | @NewsWayman
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.
“Chamberlain said the trauma causes an instant release of a hormone that renders the meat unpalatable.”
And yet, getting shot does not? I’ve never heard this. I thought, just in general, most folks don’t consider eating road kill. Most folks just aren’t gonna load up the deer corpse after hittin’ it and haul it on home to butcher it and freeze it.
In the state of South Dakota they donate the meat to the prison if you don’t want it. Just can’t eat the bruised part.
“(The deer) were apparently down on the golf course noshing all night,” . . . What the heck is noshing?