Deer suspected in U.S. Highway 190 accident Posted On: Wednesday, Nov. 4 2009 04:59 AM By Victor O'Brien
Killeen Daily Herald

A deer crossing a roadway may have triggered a crash that sent two people to the hospital Tuesday.

A preliminary investigation suggested that a car headed eastbound collided with a deer crossing U.S. Highway 190 around 5 p.m. Tuesday, Harker Heights Fire Chief Jack Collier said. The car swerved to the right into oncoming traffic and collided with another vehicle headed west.

A blue Mazda 3 hatchback and a red Geo Metro were involved in the accident. Firefighters at the scene did not disclose the role of each vehicle in the accident.

The Jaws of Life rescued a man from the Geo and a woman from the Mazda. The man, described as a Harker Heights city employee in his 20s, was airlifted to Scott & White Hospital in Temple with serious injuries. The woman was taken byambulance to Scott & White Hospital with minor injuries.

Deer crossing U.S. Highway 190 are common during the fall mating season, Collier said.

"To cause a major accident like this, that's pretty unusual,"

he said. "The public really needs to be cautious because they'll run right across the road right in front of you."

The accident diverted westbound traffic to Central Texas Expressway from Main Street in Nolanville to Indian Trail in Harker Heights from 5 to 7 p.m.