Police officers in in Pennsylvania had an unexpected encounter with wildlife while conducting what they thought would be a routine traffic stop.
Officers from the Newberry Township Police Department in York County, Penn. pulled over a hatchback at around midnight on Thursday after suspecting that the driver had been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the department said in a news release. After approaching the car, the officers noticed that there was a live deer in the back of the vehicle.
The driver and the passenger told the officers that they had struck the deer and placed it in the trunk of the vehicle, believing that the animal was dead, police said.
But a short time later, the occupants realized that the deer was still alive. They continued to drive with the animal in the car until they were stopped by police.
Video footage taken from the police car shows the passenger, a 21-year-old man, opening the trunk and lifting the deer out of the car. He carried the deer in his arms and walked to a grassy area near the side of the road, where the deer was ultimately released.
Police arrested the driver, a 19-year-old woman who was suspected of impaired driving.
