Drivers traveling along a highway in Iowa witnessed the horrific moment a herd of ‘panicked’ deer darted across several lanes and jumped off a bridge to their deaths.
Catherine Veerhusen, who posted a video of the incident on her Facebook page, said it happened around 3.15pm on Sunday as she and her husband were driving northbound on the 80th Street SW bridge over US Highway 30 in Cedar Rapids.
In the clip, a buck bolts across the roadway and leaps over the side of the bridge, hitting the ground below. Three doe follow, also leaping over the bridge. Veerhusen gasps as the animals disappear from view.
Three doe and a buck were standing on the shoulder of 80th Street SW bridge in Cedar Rapids, Iowa when they darted across several lanes and jumped over the bridge to their deaths
The horrifying incident was caught on video Sunday by Catherine Veerhusen, who was traveling over US Highway 30 with her husband
Catherine Veerhusen said the buck jumped first, immediately followed by the three doe
‘I’ve never seen anything like this,’ she told the Des Moines Register. ‘No words, no words.’
She also posted an image of the deer right before the horrific jump, and a graphic photo of the animals on the ground below.
Veerhusen said the deer were originally standing on the opposite side of the bridge when they suddenly sprinted in front of her car and jumped over the side of the bridge.
‘We see these deer cross the ramp in front of us and we’re like, “OK, don’t go over the bridge,”‘ Veerhusen said. ‘They went straight for the bridge.’
‘I stood there – I was just in shock. I’ve never seen them spooked like that.’
Denny Benyshek, a deer hunter, also witnessed the tragic incident from his vehicle.
He told the Des Moines Register that he was driving behind the Veerhusens when he saw the deer take off running.
‘We were driving slow by then. The buck was leading the whole time – then he just bolts straight east. The three doe follow him over,’ he said.
The incident was also witnessed by deer hunter Denny Benyshek, who was traveling behind the Veerhusens
The deer were most likely unfamiliar with the area because the bridge is new and panicked. A conservation officer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources also believes deer hunting season may have caused the animals to become disoriented
Ron Lane, a conservation officer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, thinks the deer were unfamiliar with the area because the 80th Street SW bridge is fairly new and panicked.
The bridge, part of a larger construction project to connect Highway 100 and Highway 30, opened in October.
Lane also said he believes deer hunting season may have caused the herd to become disoriented because hunters push them back out of their natural habitats.
‘It sounds like they were just trying to run across and didn’t know where to go,’ he said.