Vinton woman killed in car crash involving deer

By: Dave Thompson | The News & Advance
Published: March 22, 2008

For the second time in a week, an area resident was killed in a deer-related wreck.
A Vinton woman died in a single-car crash on Bellvue Road in Forest early Friday morning.
Stacy Lam Doss, 31, was thrown from the car she was riding in when the driver swerved to avoid a deer, said Sgt. Bob Carpentieri of the Virginia State Police. She was wearing the shoulder harness but not the lap harness of her seatbelt.
Doss was riding in a 1993 Saturn station wagon, when the driver, Linwood Gregory Rice of Montvale, lost control of the car.
The wreck is still under investigation.
Last Saturday, Khalid Abdul Trotman, of Lynchburg, died in Halifax County, also in a single-vehicle wreck.
Sgt. David Cooper, with the Virginia State Police said a witness saw Trotman swerve to miss a deer, run his car off the right side of the road and overturn.
Trotman died at the scene a short time later, Cooper said.
Such accidents, Cooper said, are not unusual, but to have two within such a short period is.
“You hate to hit (the deer), but the chances of getting severely injured are greatly increased if you run off the road, strike a tree or overturn, versus hitting a deer,” Cooper said.
He said stopping is a better option than swerving, but stopping too quickly could cause serious problems.
“You can actually scoop the animal up, because the front end is lower, but if you apply your brakes, versus jam them on, you stop kind of evenly.”
The best way to avoid the hit?
Officer Ronnie Sitler, with the Lynchburg Police Department said hitting the deer isn’t as bad as hitting another car or tree.
“That tree doesn’t give, whereas that animal may be gone before you get there,” Sitler said.
“Three or four out of several hundred (accidents), they actually got hurt after hitting the deer.”
Cooper said some preventive measures can be taken to lessen the chances of a
collision.
“As soon as you see (the deer), tap your brakes, you might glance in the mirror … and slow down to the point where you figure, if he runs out in front of me I can stop.”
Dealing with deer, Cooper said, isn’t much different than dealing with a subdivision with children and dogs near the road.
“Expect one to run out in front of you,” he said, adding that if there’s no precaution taken, it’s up to chance what the damage will be.

Vinton woman killed in car crash involving deer

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