A few years ago, my friend and I took my 13-year-old son deer hunting on a wildlife preserve in northern Alabama.

We walked about two miles into the woods to get to the place that we had previously scouted. Since we were bow hunting, I helped my son put up his portable tree stand and told him I would circle around and put my stand up across a small ravine about 75 yards away. After putting mine up and climbing in, I saw my son leaning over and waving at me.

What I saw next appeared in slow motion. He leaned too far and fell about 20 feet to the ground. In seconds, I was down from my tree and running through briars to get to him. He was in intense pain and screaming loud enough to be heard through the whole forest. I thought for sure his leg or ankle was broken.


We carried him two miles to our trucks using an old fashioned packsaddle. When we got to our trucks and removed his boot, we found that it was not broken. We were lucky.

Over the years, I have learned that deer and deer hunting can be very dangerous. According to the International Hunter Education Association, approximately 1,000 people in the United States and Canada are accidentally shot every year. Most victims are hunters, but nonhunters are also sometimes injured.

North American Whitetail reports that countless hunters are hurt each year in many other ways like falling from trees. If a fall victim only gets a few bumps and bruises, they are lucky. Many falls result in broken bones, paralysis, severe brain damage and even death.

You don’t have to be a hunter to experience the dangers of having deer in our midst. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are about 1.5 million car accidents with deer each year that result in over $1 billion in vehicle damages, 150 human fatalities and more than 10,000 personal injuries. In Tellico Village, we know these dangers all too well. Hardly a week goes that we hear someone has experienced the “joy” of a deer collision.

We can reduce our chances of hitting a deer by heeding the following tips offered by the NHTSA:

  • Be attentive when driving. Look for glowing eyes along the highway. Remember to slow down.
  • Use high-beam headlights when driving in deer territory. High-beams will increase your vision and your time to react to a deer hiding on the roadside.
  • Car-mounted ‘deer whistles’ do not seem to affect deer and may result in drivers being less aware. These devices don’t work. Watch out.
  • If a collision with a deer is unavoidable, do not swerve to avoid it. Brake and hold the wheel straight. Turning the wheel to avoid the deer may result in an accident with another car or cause the car to spin out of control and crash.

With a lot of care and attentiveness, we can all make it through the rutting season without an accident. If you aren’t so lucky and someone is injured, call 911 immediately. The Tellico Village Volunteer Fire Department and our local ambulance service will be there in short order.

As always, we at the fire department wish you safe driving and an enjoyable East Tennessee fall season.

Bruce Johnson is an emergency medical responder with the Tellico Village Volunteer Fire Department.