Mother, 12-year-old daughter killed in Cabarrus County after deer hits windshield
A mother and her daughter died Christmas night after a deer crashed through their windshield, the State Highway Patrol confirmed Monday.
Melissa Mullis, 31, and Carson Cummings, 12, were driving on Gold Hill Road in Cabarrus County when another car hit the deer, which propelled it into oncoming traffic and through their windshield, said Trooper Whit Efird. Mullis and Cummings died on impact during the collision, which occurred just before 10 p.m., Efird said.
October through December is the peak time for vehicle wrecks involving deer in North Carolina, a recent Charlotte Observer analysis found.
About half of the roughly 20,000 collisions with deer reported annually take place in the last three months of the year, Department of Transportation data show. That’s mating season for deer, a time when they are on the move.
About 40 people are either killed or receive major injuries from a crash with wildlife in North Carolina every year, the Observer found.
Traffic safety officials recommend watching for more deer after seeing one, slowing down in wooded areas and not swerving when a deer appears before a vehicle.