A driver was killed over the weekend in Upstate New York after a freak accident with a deer.
The deadly crash happened just before 6:30 p.m. Sunday on State Route 19 in Pavilion, a rural town about 20 minutes northwest of Geneseo in Western New York.
A 68-year-old Pavilion woman was driving north on Route 19 when a deer ran onto the road, the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office told WGRZ. Her SUV struck the deer, sending the animal flying through the windshield of an oncoming pickup truck, according to WHAM.
Michael Vaccaro, the Rochester man driving the pickup truck, died at the scene, WGRZ reported. He was 80 years old.
Deputies told WHAM that no one in the SUV that hit the deer was injured.
In addition to the sheriff’s office, members of the Pavilion and LeRoy fire departments, Mercy EMS and LeRoy Ambulance Services responded to the scene.
Fall is the most common time for deer and moose crashes in New York state.
As deer and moose seek mates during their breeding season, the large animals often wander onto public roads and into the path of cars. In 2022, over 40% of the accidents between deer and vehicles in the Empire State happened between October and December, according to the University at Albany’s Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research.
Moose and deer are most active from dusk to dawn.
In New York, moose primarily live in the Adirondacks, while white-tailed deer can be found in every region, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation
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