Caught on Camera: Deer crashes through school bus window, lands on student

POWHATAN, Co., Va. (WWBT) - It was anything but an average school bus ride early Thursday, April 1, when a deer crashed through the window and landed on a student.

The school bus driver was headed down Old Buckingham Road in Powhatan to take students to the high school there. The sleeping student had no clue what was about to happen.

“He’s laying there asleep and the deer comes in, lays on top of him and rolls off onto the floor,” says Brian Bartlett, who runs the transportation department for Powhatan County Schools.

He is commending the bus driver who took all the right steps.

“I was very proud of him. He stayed very calm, actually got the bus stopped. He turned the four-way flashers on in the middle of the deer being in the floor right next to him,” Bartlett added.

After the deer got inside, the driver opened the bus doors, causing the baby deer to make a fast escape.

Fortunately, Bartlett, who also drives school buses, was able to come to the driver’s rescue.

“I had enough room on the bus I was driving to take his students off to put on my bus.”

About 14 students were on board.

The unexpected intruder left behind some $300 in damage.

“You can see where the deer went across the hood and went through the windshield....Tore off the wiper arm,” Bartlett points out.

There’s a broken mirror at the front of the bus, but that’s nothing compared to what could have happened.

“It could’ve come through and hit the driver. Here he is driving down the road. It could’ve knocked him unconscious...I’ve seen turkeys come through the front windshields of trucks and things like that, but not a deer come through the front of a bus and land in the floor,” Bartlett said.

No one was hurt, and the students were all able to make it to school Thursday. The driver was back behind the wheel hours later.

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