Ohio State Highway Patrol Say Auto-deer Crashes on the Rise

Ohio motorists are being warned that auto-deer crashes have been on the increase.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says more than 28,000 deer-vehicle collisions were reported on the state’s roads last year, up 3.3 percent from 2005.

In a news release issued with the Ohio Insurance Institute and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources on Thursday, the patrol says 12 people were killed last year in wrecks involving deer. That compares with nine fatalities in 2005 and five in 2004.

Officials say most of the crashes come between October and January, when deer are breeding, and during the hours around sunrise and sunset.