Deer smashes through windshield of school bus full of students in Virginia, video shows
Surveillance footage shows a student napping in the front seat of a school bus early Thursday who was startled when an uninvited passenger came crashing through the front window.
A deer blasted through the windshield just after 6 a.m. as the bus made its way to Powhatan High School outside of Richmond, Virginia, Powhatan Today reported. The animal landed in the front seat and writhed to its feet before scampering out the front door, the video shows.
Officials said no one was injured — including, seemingly, the deer.
“The bus hit it and it rolled up the hood of the bus and through the windshield,” Brian Bartlett, interim director of transportation, told the newspaper. “The deer jumped up at about the time the bus hit it.”
The bus was on Route 13 near Anderson Highway when the collision occurred, WTVR reported.
In a video provided by Powhatan County Public Schools, the deer shot through the windshield seemingly out of nowhere. It flipped over the front seat and landed on top of a hunched over student who appeared to be sleeping, the video shows.
The driver can be seen maneuvering the bus to the side of the highway as the deer thrashed out of the seat and into the main aisle. As soon as the driver opened the front door, the frightened animal bolted.
“I was trying to sleep, y’all,” a student can be heard saying.
The deer was seen running through a nearby field minutes later, according to WTVR.
Bartlett told Powhatan Today the driver did a great job getting the situation under control and keeping the students safe.
“He did very well,” Bartlett said, according to the newspaper. “He was able to get the bus off to the side of the road safely, turned the four ways on while the bus was moving, and did all of this while the deer was still in the floor of the bus kicking all around.”
The only damage was reportedly to the windshield and one of its wipers.
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Deer smashes through windshield of school bus full of students in Virginia, video shows."
