Deer totals minivan after leaping from overpass

WEST DUNDEE, Ill. – A suburban Chicago woman is grateful her family is safe after a 200-pound (90-kilogram) deer leapt from an overpass, landing on their minivan as it travelled along a highway.

Heidi Conner tells The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald that the doe came to rest in the middle of the family’s Chevy on Sunday. She and her four children were travelling about 70 mph (112 kph).

She says the accident was bizarre, adding “nobody can believe this deer fell from the sky.”

Illinois State Police say witnesses reported seeing the deer jump from an overpass onto the vehicle below.

Conner says the crash totalled the van and caused minor injuries, but says the way the deer landed on the vehicle was “a miracle in itself.”

Police say the animal died.