Pregnant driver swerves to avoid a deer, crashes; injuries cause loss of her fetus

Last update: November 12, 2009 - 8:13 PM

A pregnant woman from Sauk Centre, Minn., injured in a one-car accident on Interstate 94 in Stearns County lost her fetus as a result of the crash.

Jennifer Huston, 27, was heading east on I-94 near Albany, Minn., about 9 p.m. Wednesday in a 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer. She swerved to miss a deer, and the car rolled over, the State Patrol said.

Huston was taken to St. Cloud Hospital, where the fetus died as a result of injuries in the accident, the patrol said.

Dispatchers at sheriff's offices around the metro area have reported a number of deer-vehicle accidents the past couple of weeks.

In Carver County, the number of motor vehicle accidents has risen from 147 for all of 2008 to 161 as of Nov. 4 of this year, according to the Sheriff's Office. At the same time, the total number of property damage accidents have dropped. About 30 percent of the deer-vehicle accidents in Carver County have happened since the start of September, the Sheriff's Office said.

VINCE TUSS

DEALING WITH DEER ON THE ROADS

The state Office of Traffic Safety offers these tips:

SLOW DOWN IMMEDIATELY whenever you see deer. Assume they will cross into your path.

IF YOU SEE ONE, BE ALERT FOR OTHERS, because deer are herd animals.

DEER TEND TO TRAVEL AT DAWN AND DUSK. Most crashes happened just after dawn and right before sunset.

IF A CRASH IS UNAVOIDABLE, TRY NOT TO SWERVE, because of the risk of hitting a tree or other objects along the road.

CALL 911 IF YOU HIT A DEER, and remove the animal from the road only if you are certain it is dead. Also, you need a permit to take the deer carcass.