NEWS

Man's leg crushed when hit by flying deer in Clarksville

Pranaav Jadhav
pjadhav@theleafchronicle.com

Robert Hayes was walking to buy groceries Thursday evening when he was hit by a flying deer on Dover Road.

Robert Hayes' leg was crushed when he was hit by a flying deer Thursday night.

"It was a eight-point buck," Hayes said.

He recalled cars going around an injured deer lying on the ground.

"The deer was already on the ground. It was trying to get up and walk in front of (the woman driving the minivan), then she hit the deer and it flew into me," he said.

It happened within seconds, according to Hayes, who said he didn't have time to react. "Not when it is going 30 miles an hour."

Hayes is a construction worker who underwent surgery Friday morning. He will rest for three months.

He doesn't yet how much in hospital costs he has incurred.

"It ain't cheap," Hayes said. "They have put my leg together right now. I have another surgery in 10 days."

Hayes said the injury could have been avoided if the driver had seen the deer and slowed down or stopped.

"I just stood still because I figured the deer is going to start running," he said.

The woman Hayes refers to was driving west in a 2004 Pontiac Montana.

Pedestrian hit by flying deer in Clarksville

Reach government reporter Pranaav Jadhav at pjadhav@theleafchronicle.com (245-0742) or on facebook or twitter.