A Tuesday evening crash on US 50 in Martin County was the result of a deer crossing the roadway.
At 6:09 PM Tuesday, Trooper Andrew Beaver was patrolling US 50 and had turned to initiate a traffic stop for a speeding violation. As he turned around to face west, he observed a two vehicle crash that had just happened. As he pulled up to the scene, Trooper Beaver found a pick-up truck on its side and an SUV in the roadway.
The investigation showed that 41 year old Deanna Smith of Shoals was driving westbound on US 50 when a deer entered the roadway, standing near the center line. At the same time, Jason Robbins of Shoals was driving eastbound towards Smith and the deer. Both Smith and Robbins swerved to miss the deer, but each swerved towards the center line. Impact from the collision caused Robbins’ truck to overturn onto its passenger side, trapping him inside the vehicle.
Robbins was cut from the truck by Martin County Civil Defense and the Loogootee Fire Department. He was transported to Memorial Hospital in Jasper with complaints of pain to his ribs and legs. Smith was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Both drivers were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash, greatly reducing the extent of injuries to each driver.
The Indiana State Police would like to remind motorists that, particularly during deer season, drivers should not swerve to avoid deer in the roadway. Evasive maneuvers in which a motorist drives off of the roadway or leaves their lane poses a greater risk of having a severe crash as opposed to colliding with the animal. In this crash, even though both drivers attempted to avoid the deer, the deer was still struck prior to the vehicles crashing into each other.
