New mom remembers horrific deer accident

A NEW mother has described how she was left terrified her unborn baby had been harmed after her van overturned when it collided with a deer in the Forest of Dean.

Tyler O’Brien, from Coleford, was driving to work last January when the animal crashed into his Peugeot Expert on Worrall Hill, causing it to roll twice.

And their words of warning have been backed by Forestry England, who say deer pose a significant danger on roads, particularly during the shorter days of winter.

The 29-year-old, who at the time was 13 weeks pregnant with her son Alfie, who was born in June, said: “Looking back, I feel extremely grateful and lucky that neither myself nor my baby came to any harm.

“It was quite traumatic, but now I don’t take life for granted.”

The deer crashed into the driver’s side, causing the truck to hit the mud on the outside lane of the highway, causing it to roll over before dragging Tyler 50 meters down the road on its roof and landing in a ditch. .

One of her colleagues, an off-duty firefighter, arrived at the scene of the accident and was able to help her through the windshield before taking her to the hospital, where she and her unborn baby were given the all-clear.

According to Ian Harvey, Forestry England’s wildlife manager for the west of England, collisions with fallow deer are “very under-reported” but pose a significant danger.

“The impact of deer on vehicles nationwide is a pretty big problem, but it’s probably not recorded because there’s no requirement from your insurance company…they just group it as animal-related,” he said.

Last year, his team attended 45 road incidents with deer and 54 with wild boars, which can cause “serious damage” to a vehicle.

Tyler, an account manager, still passes the same place on his way to work and says: “I feel very stiff and frozen when I walk by it, but it gets easier, you just have to keep going.

“It was only going about 35mph, that shows how dangerous it can be.”

The accident did not deploy the van’s airbag, something Tyler is grateful for because he feared he could have hurt his baby.

“I think the story would have been different if the airbags had gone off, as they would have gone straight into my stomach,” he said.

O’Brien, whose partner was working in Switzerland at the time of the accident, said she is “definitely more cautious now.”

“On the way to work, I’m constantly making sure everything is clear, and at night I’m much more observant,” she said.

The RSPCA said more than 74,000 collisions with deer occur each year, “the majority of which sadly result in the death of the deer”, although this time it escaped into the woods.

“This is not only a major animal welfare issue, but can also be extremely dangerous for drivers and passengers,” a spokesperson said.

“Always report any deer-vehicle collision to police and record the incident at www.deeraware.com.”