bcameron59

On the Transcanada between Canmore and Calgary, pulled out to pass and there, in the middle of the two lanes lay a dead deer. At night, it was impossible to see it around the vehicle that I had just pulled out behind, and once it appeared suddenly in front of me, impossible to avoid without risking upsetting the car with violent braking, or left or right evasive manoeuver at highway speed.

Split-second decision was to aim and hit the deer amidships, so as to avoid damage to the suspension, and trusting that the (car) body would ride up over the deer (body) with minimal damage. There was quite a bump as you can imagine, particularly on the passenger side where my wife (bless her) remained very calm throughout. The gamble to take a conservative approach paid off; there was no loss of control and I was able to get onto the shoulder right away as there was a break in the traffic behind me.

Slowly drove a couple of kilometers on the shoulder to a safe pullout location and inspected the underside as best I could with a flashlight. Cracked the front bumper and an air scoop on the front control arm, lots of deer hair and a little bit of gore but other than that no serious damage that I could see, so got back on the highway and continued home. On the way I noticed some slight pulling to the left so will probably need an alignment.

After getting it up on stands and having a closer look today, I can't see any signs of bent suspension parts. Might soon be looking for a new euro or turbo bumper however.

This is about the worst of the damage there is to see, don't worry, no gory pix of deer blood & guts, the splatter you see is all bug guts which hopefully won't upset anyone. I have no idea how I will ever get the deer hair off the control arm bushing, it has Chris Walrod SSN grease all over it...
.

TMc993

That really sucks...Although we are overrun with them, I've never hit a deer. However, in a similar situation passing a car, I hit a ten foot 4"x4" laying across the passing lane and destroyed the wheels and suspension on an Acura. Like you, it was a rough ride and nothing I'd like to repeat. Glad your car damage is minimal and you and your wife are okay.

mr_bock

Glad it wasn't too bad. If the deer was standing, it could have come through the windshield!!!

That will buff out...

curve lover

Brian-- Glad you & your wife are safe. Sounds like your split-second driving decision paid off

My car was once hit by a deer ... literally: HIT BY A DEER -- not the other way around.

I slowed to a stand-still when I saw it in the distance. The world's dumbest deer eventually decided to cross in front, but instead of walking in front of me (at a stand-still!) it made a half-hearted attempt to jump over my hood. I can still hear the hoof colliding with metal as the idiot beast didn't jump high enough, instead hitting its foot on the fender and sliding back where it started.
...then it finally decided to walk in front of me

[Luckily, wasn't in a Porsche that day.]

pp000830

Looks like minor damage, a new bumper cover and related parts and you will be good to go. Any word from the deer on its injuries?

TJ993

Hey Brian

So Glad to hear you and your wife are Both OK.
Very pleased with the end result - Only a Bumper Cover.
Tom

laurence '97 C4S

I would say that you, your wife and your 993 did quite well given the other possible outcomes. Have a quiet drink to be thankful while taking mental note: you've used one of your nine lives.

Foxman

Very glad to hear no one was harmed. The damage appears to be minimal. You can even turn this into a positive and use it as an opportunity to get a euro bumper and delete the bumperettes.
I wouldn't drive anywhere until that alignment is fixed, and the control arms are inspected. It may just be the camera angle, but your left front wheel looks way off to the left which would explain the "slight pulling to the left." Good luck, and again, so glad no one got hurt.

P-daddy

Yes glad you and your wife were unharmed. Parts can always be replaced.

FLYT993

holy $%^&*#! glad you and the wife are ok. amazing the thoughts that are processed in milliseconds when in imminent danger, and clearly you made the right decisions. wow! with some TLC your car will be fine.

on a separate note reminds me of a thread years ago when i first joined....can't remember who, but it was a red 993....where the deer was alive and tried to high jump the 993 and got his ******** hairs caught in top of the windshield.

EMBPilot

lol omfg

phoneyman

Good work on remaining calm and taking the brunt of the obstacle. A lot of people try to swerve around animals and end up causing substantially more damage. I hit a standing deer in my 993 last year and I was extremely happy that my reactions were to take the full impact. I have never had an instance before where I got to choose where to put the car. If I had steered left or right, well ditches on both sides and I'm glad I chose the impact. I will need a new front bumper at some point, but it all buffs out. Glad you guys are ok.

Ponchobroke

Also glad everyone is OK.
I had a similar situation a few years ago regarding the front bumper. In working with the repair shop, I was able to purchase a euro bumper kit from Gert and have it painted and installed for less $ than an US OEM C2 bumper... It was a few years ago...
Good luck!

NP993

Glad everyone (well, at least the humans) were okay. Doesn't even look like you need a bumper cover. You can repair that crack easily.

EMBPilot

this!!^^