Nothing worse than hitting a trophy buck with your vehicle, deciding to keep it because it’s impressive, then watching it jump out of the back of your truck and run away.
Driving at night during the winter can be dangerous, mainly because there’s more deer movement (in certain areas of the country) during the last couple of months of the year. Deer season generally runs from October through December in most places, and as you might imagine, that’s generally the time in the calendar with peak deer activity.
While hunters are in the woods trying to bring the antlered animals down, sometimes unsuspecting drivers are the ones that actually tag and bag them.
A Wisconsin woman in Mosinee, Wisconsin, by the name of Ryleigh Bentley detailed that very experience that actually totaled her husband’s truck. Though a video attached to the incident is now going viral on TikTok, the story itself was told through a GoFundMe that Bentley has set up to help raise money for truck repairs from the accident.
The description of the online fundraiser reads as follows:
“My husband, lovingly known as the real life Tommy Boy, is a proud Marine and Purple Heart veteran. One night, he hit a large buck in the middle of the road. Thinking the deer was gone, he loaded it into the bed of his truck and watched it the entire way home on camera. The buck didn’t move an inch.
When he got home, the truck’s dash lit up with a ‘check tire’ warning. As he got out to see what was wrong, he was in for the shock of a lifetime: the buck was sitting up, locking eyes with him! In a wild twist, the deer jumped out of the truck and ran off into the night.
The damage to his truck was significant, and now he’s unable to drive to work or get out into the woods, which is something he truly loves. As you can imagine, this has put a lot of stress on our family, since his truck is our main way of getting around and supporting our daily needs.”
The GoFundMe features pictures of some of the damage, and the tire that the deer apparently mangled during it’s escape. The veteran had the wherewithal to take a video of the deer as it was coming to in the back of his GMS.
Here’s that very video, which currently has millions of views (and over 4 million likes) on TikTok:
@ryleigh.bentley07 Welp.#jumpscared #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #blowthisup ♬ we r who we r (glitter on my eyes) – pk
That’s wild.
Just to be clear, it’s ok to take possession of roadkill in the state of Wisconsin so long as you register it with the DNR:
Any person wanting to take possession and register a vehicle killed deer, bear, or turkey will need to provide their DNR customer ID number to complete the notification and registration process. DNR customer ID numbers are assigned to individuals who have purchased hunting and fishing licenses, registered a boat, ATV, UTV, off-highway motorcycle and snowmobile or enrolled in a safety education course.
Bentley went on to say on the GoFundMe page that they’re hoping they can raise enough money (they have a $1,600 goal) to get the truck fixed up so that her husband can get back out in the woods and take down a deer in the proper way:
“We’re reaching out for help because the cost of repairs is more than we can manage right now. Getting his truck fixed will mean he can get back to work, provide for our family, and—hopefully—get back in the woods to hunt. With your help, maybe next time he’ll be able to shoot a buck, not hit one with his truck!
Our story has gone viral on TikTok, and we’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness and encouragement from people all over. If you’re able to donate or share our fundraiser, it would mean the world to us. Thank you for being part of our journey and for supporting the real life Tommy Boy!”
Moral of the story? Keep an eye out for deer darting into traffic, and if you do hit one, leave it be.
