Man removing deer from the road is killed in a hit-and-run, New York police say 

A man was killed while attempting to remove a dead animal from the road in New York, according to police.

Jon Gearhart, 44, was driving Nov. 11 on a state Route 14 in Horseheads, a village near the New York-Pennsylvania border, when he pulled over to move a deer carcass from the road, New York State Police said in a Nov. 12 press release.

Gearhart was then struck by a vehicle that fled the scene, according to police.

Police responded to the area shortly after sunset and found Gearhart with life threatening injuries. He was brought to a hospital several miles away where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Part of the highway was closed for several hours following the incident. The investigation remains ongoing, according to police.

A spokesperson for the New York State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

There were 1,980 fatal hit-and-run crashes resulting in 2,049 deaths across the U.S. in 2016, the latest year with data available, according to the American Automobile Association.

Upward of one million crashes occur every year across the country between vehicles and large animals, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts.

This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 9:23 AM with the headline "Man removing deer from the road is killed in a hit-and-run, New York police say ."