Deer-Involved Crashes On The Rise In West Michigan

In Ottawa County, deer crashes are up nearly 22 percent in recent years. On Monday, Nov. 6, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office responded to 15 deer-involved crashes in one night. During November, that’s normal for the area. With more than 20 percent of all deer-involved car crashes happening in the month of November, police are busy responding to countless crashes each day. “We take so many car-deer crashes this time of year,” said Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office Road Patrol Sgt. Steve Austin. “Deer are so unpredictable that it’s just a matter of time before somebody hits one. Realistically, we take car-deer crashes all year long, but we take them in bunches in October and November.”