Driver swerves to avoid deer; suffers moderate injuries

It was a case of the Crown Victoria versus the deer on Ivy Road about 3 miles east of Carl Junction around 11 p.m. Thursday.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says it happened when a vehicle driven by a 25-year-old man from Oronogo swerved to miss a deer, traveled off the right side of the roadway, struck a fence and overturned.

The man suffered moderate injuries.  He was taken by ambulance to a Joplin hospital.

Back in 2023, drivers in Missouri had almost 3,600 crashes involving deer – equating to one deer strike in the state every 2 hours and 30 minutes.