More deer-car collisions in Sarpy

The morning commute began with more car-deer collisions in Sarpy County, underscoring advice from authorities: Motorists, be alert.

Two deer caused separate crashes Wedesday at about 6:30 a.m. near the John F. Kennedy Freeway and Cornhusker Highway. The day before, Sarpy County had three car-deer collisions in what they expected to be a surge of such crashes in coming weeks.

The annual deer mating season and the corn harvest are aligning to create the potential for a rash of bloody and damaging accidents as stirred-up whitetails dash across roadways, authorities said.

"The farmers are more active in the fields now that this later-than-normal harvest is getting under way and that's forcing deer to be more active,'' said Nebraska State Patrol Lt. Kevin Bridges in Omaha.

The Sarpy County accidents occurred before dawn. The sheriff's office investigated car-deer collisions at 5:40 a.m. near Platteview Road and U.S. Highway 75, 5:57 a.m. near Pflug Road and Nebraska Highway 50 and at 6:20 a.m. near the Interstate 80 exit south of Gretna.

No drivers or passengers were injured, officials said.

Drivers should slow down and be extra vigilant this time of year, said Greg Wagner, a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission spokesman in Omaha.

"Deer can appear in the strangest of places,'' he said, "but especially where a creek or fence line bisects a road. If you see a deer on the road, watch for others you don't immediately see. There's probably a buck chasing a doe or fawns following their mom right behind that one on the road.''

Deer-related automobile accidents jumped 54 percent in Nebraska during the past two years, according to a recent State Farm estimate. That's one reason why the Game and Parks Commission is encouraging hunters to help thin the healthy and growing deer herd.

Nebraska and Iowa are high-risk states when computing the chances of a deer-vehicle collision, according to State Farm. The likelihood of such an accident is one in 142 in Nebraska and one in 104 in Iowa.

Deer-vehicle collisions cause more than 150 fatalities a year in the United States, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The average property damage cost from the nation's estimated 2.4 million annual deer-vehicle accidents was $3,050.

Nebraska's archery deer season is under way. The rifle deer season begins Nov. 14.

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