'Bam! I got hit by Bambi': Deer runs over B.C. man
You may know people who have hit a deer on the road. But you probably don't know anyone who've had a deer hit them — until now.
McCook is a rapper and environmental management representative at the Kwadacha First Nation in Fort Ware, British Columbia. He spoke with As It Happens host Carol Off about the unlikely incident.
Carol Off: Cary, where were you and what were you doing when you got hit by a deer?
Cary McCook: I was in front of the Stork Nest Inn in Smithers, British Columbia. Me and my coworkers were just coming back from Terrace for a little short visit. They were dropping me off. I thought I was going to have a quite, relaxing night. Turns out, fate, or I would call it nature, had other plans.
CO: So I can see from the video, someone pulls up in a truck and lets you off. What happens then?
CM: I get out of my truck. As you see I turn my back when I shut the door. When I start to make my way towards the entrance I hear three gallops to my left. I turned. Before I could process it was a deer and try to get out of the way — because my left leg was going left, my right leg was going right, leaving me in the middle — bam! I got hit by Bambi.
CO: And he or she is moving at a clip when you get hit.
CM: Yeah, it was a doe. That was lucky on my part that it wasn't a buck where she would have had horns. She was going fast. I noticed she was being chased by a dog. That's why she was in full sprint. By the time I realized she was in full sprint, I was already in the way. She tried to jump over me. Unfortunately, I'm 5-6. She couldn't make the clearance and then — bam — I got hit.
CO: So then what happened? You told some people what happened . . .
CM: I was in shock at the time and then I jumped on the phone automatically. Mind you, this is April 1st. So everyone is thinking April Fool's this and April Fool's that. I call my Mom and then I tell her, "Mom, I got hit by a deer." She couldn't believe it. She's like, "All right, Cary, good one." I'm like, "No, I'm serious. I got hit by a deer in front of my hotel room." She wouldn't believe me.
I talked to my brothers and they wouldn't believe me. I was laughing because I'm a hip hop artist and I rap. My group, I told them and they didn't believe me too. The next day, after I got the footage, I threw it on Facebook and this thing just went viral. It just skyrocketed up. Everyone was sharing it and my family, they're like, "Holy dang! You weren't joking. You actually got hit by a deer."
CO: What kind of responses have you had from people?
CM: Oh, I hear it all. You know, "deer whisperer," "dances with deer," "hip-hop artist gets jumped by deer," "it must be a deer gang." I've been hearing a lot of responses and you know it's awesome because on my side of my heritage laughter is good medicine — it's good for the soul.
It is an unfortunate situation. I'm glad I'm okay and everything. But that's the thing, I'm perfectly fine. So just to break that situation and put it into a positive one where everyone just has a good laugh about it — now that's the dream. The deer is okay. I'm okay. All of us are good. We just had a shock. I guarantee the deer was appointed alpha. Now it's like running around being all high saying, "Hey, I took down a First Nations hunter! What did you do?"
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For more on this story, listen to our full interview with Cary McCook.