Everyone is fine—deer and humans alike.
This was no April Fools' joke: on April 1, a Powhatan County Public School bus hit a deer and then got ... hit back.
The bus driver, who did not wish to be identified, was heading toward Powhatan High School with a bus full of students. He reported, "while traveling down Old Buckingham Road, he had one deer come out in front of him and missed being hit but a second followed right after," according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Brian Bartlett, interim director of transportation, said, "The deer jumped up at about the time the bus hit it ... and it rolled up the hood of the bus and through the windshield."
The deer landed on top of Brendan Martin, 15, who was "trying to sleep." He told CBS affiliate WTVR, "I was really confused because I was trying to sleep and I woke up to something on my back. I realized it was a deer and was just very confused because I'd never seen a deer actually jump through a windshield and then land."
Watch the video below, courtesy of the Powhatan County Public Schools (via Facebook):
*Please note that the video does contain some profanity.
What a way to start the morning! Kudos to this bus driver for remaining calm and keeping our kids safe. #wearepowhatan #powhatanproud
Posted by Powhatan County, Virginia on Thursday, April 1, 2021
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "the deer can be seen coming through the windshield and landing on (Martin). It takes the driver about 10 seconds to get the still moving bus at a safe place to stop and open the doors so the deer can escape. During that time, the frightened deer can be seen and heard moving around frantically. But when the driver opens the doors, it is able to get up and run away. The driver then pulls the bus over fully to report the accident while students can be heard yelling in disbelief in the background."
Bartlett said of the driver, “He did very well. He was able to get the bus off to the side of the road safely, turned the four ways on while the bus was moving, and did all of this while the deer was still on the floor of the bus kicking all around. He did a very good job at keeping the bus safe and keeping the kids on the bus safe."
No students were harmed, the deer itself was later seen running off uninjured, and the only damage to the bus was a damaged windshield and windshield wiper; so all's well that ends well.
For more deer videos, check here.
What's your craziest encounter with a deer? Tell us in the comments.
