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Wow What a Great Morning!! Jeep vs Deer

8.1K views 39 replies 28 participants last post by  Ignatz  
#1 ·
Yup hit a deer this morning in the Patriot on my way to work. I'm ok, but the jeep is not! The deer actually tried to Jump over the Patriot, but landed on the windshield. Damage to the Hood, windshield, both passengers side doors, front passenger fender, and Roof took place. I was traveling about 40-45mph and the deer came out of nowhere and I did not even hardly see it. I saw a blur or a deer jumping right as it smacked the windshield. I was covered in glass too. Anyway here are the pics. I hope I can get this taken care of very soon.

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Yeah it sucks, but life goes on!!
 
#2 ·
wow! most i hit was a skunk.... but no damage.... just stunk up my whole wheel well.
 
#10 ·
Oh MAN! Been there done that. I was luckier, though. 97 Subaru outback doing about the same speed, on a curve a deer leaped out of the bushes and landed right in front of me. I hit the brakes and hit him before I could fully stop. He fell over onto my hood and everything would have been OK, but he kicked back and broke my windshield, then fell off on the side of the road. I had a small dent in the hood that i didn't bother getting fixed and had to replace the windshield. I'm VERY sorry about the way he hit you the roof damage looks bad. Hope everything works out OK for you.
 
#11 ·
:wow: I bet that scared the %@^# outta you. Glad to hear you're okay. My guess is that it's totaled. Due to the low car price/value and the amount of damage you have there I would say you're getting a new vehicle. If so will it be another Patriot? :p
 
#13 ·
Oh, had a 3 deer hit a year ago, 3 standing in the middle of an extremely foggy road, one flew left, one flew right, the other literally skid up the hood and flew over the roof (was a 00 Grand Prix with a very sloped hood that acted like a ramp LOL). Anyways, I had to have a hood, bumper cover, passenger fender and headlight, got very lucky. hope all turns out!
 
#15 ·
Glad you're OK !!! I recently had a total loss wreck, and one thing we have in common is that the air bags did not deploy !!! From your pics, it looks as though your front bags nor side air curtains deployed ? I would say that maybe no front because trigger should be in bumper?? However, I would think with that kind of impact to the roof that the curtains should have deployed ??? I hope they total it for you. You wouldn't want it back after that much surgery ! They are never the same again. Mine just made it by a couple hundred dollars. The adjuster told me if the front bags went off, the tally would have been $3,000 more !!!
 
#17 ·
Yes, im ok. The deer died. If it is totaled I want another Pat, but i just hope i can find one for the price i got this onw for. Also im worried how much the insurance will give me for the value of my pat. It had 3500 miles and was 3months old. Insurance agent will look over the pat today. I will keep ya posted.
 
#18 ·
The end of the conversation in the woods just before your approached.

Deerdevil: "Hey Bambi, watch this..."

Silvermike has hit deer twice, but they only destroyed his bumper.

Glad to see that the deer remained on the outside of the vehicle. My uncle once hit a deer and the antler came through the windshield, past his face, and ended up in the back seat.
 
#20 ·
Theres a comedian that is on the Bob and Tom radio show a lot (I can't remember his name right now), that believes there is an animal conspiracy going on right now.

You might want to check into that possibility here..:D


p.s. Glad to see no harm came to the occupants. (other than soiled clothes?):p
 
#21 ·
Sorry to hear. Could not see the pictures but I can imagine.

Only hit a deer once. Hit a large dog 10 days after getting it back. The airbag sensors are on the inboard side of the bumper mountings so they would not have gone off. You get to appreciate the toughness and well thought out design of the Pats when this stuff happens. Ever wonder why that pillar is so thick around the windshield?

Glad no person was hurt and forgive me if I don't show sympathy for the deer.
 
#23 ·
Wow! Instant tenderized venison on the hood ..er..hoof. Really, you have my sympathy. It's a good thing it wasn't a moose! Deer are beautiful animals to have around but pose serious dangers for motorists. My sister-in-law and her husband totalled their car a couple of years ago when a large buck ran into the side of their Nissan on a cottage country highway, fortunately without personal injuries. Two months ago a lovely doe was nailed on a busy street in Toronto that crosses our backyard ravine 500 hundred feet north of my house. Unfortunately the young officer who was sent to finally dispatch it wasn't aware of the public right to claim it so I missed out on some nice meat. I did tell him about a policeman in another division who reportedly takes such kills to his garage, guts and hangs them and distributes the meat to colleagues. I don't know if he ever followed up on that hint. Ironically, I see more deer in my urban backyard than at my buddy's hunt camp!
 
#24 ·
Ironically, I see more deer in my urban backyard than at my buddy's hunt camp!
They are stupid when it comes to vehicles but yet are smart enough to figure out where they can't be hunted.
 
#27 ·
I wear glasses so I think that helped with the glass spray. I also think it's our human tendency to instantly blink when stuff flies at you. I did get a good spray of glass though; when the officer told me to park my jeep in a nearby church I could not even put the seat belt buckle in the slot because it was full of glass. The jeep is now at the dealer getting fixed. They did not total it out and the damage was $6500. Replacing the roof, hood, front fender, passenger door and windshield. They said it will take about 2 weeks to complete. I had a good patriot that did not leak so hopefully the new roof will not leak also. I was kind of glad they did not total out the jeep. I would have been worried about finding a new Patriot for the money that the insurance would have given me. The Jeep should be ok though, I drove it after the wreck and it is fine mechanically. The deer only hit top exterior of the car so the frame was not bent or anything. Also, none of the air bags went off and I don't think that they should have. When it happened I really did not move alot in the car (my head did not hit anything). I think the glass bending in absorbed alot of energy so it really did not slow my car down much. Anyway thank you all for the concern! Enjoy your Jeep while you have it!