An Elk City man was injured Saturday night when the vehicle he was driving struck a deer standing in the road.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Matt Villines identified the injured driver as 34-year-old Holland Fleming. He was transported by Burns Flat EMS to Integris Clinton Regional Hospital in Clinton and admitted in stable condition, the trooper said.
Villines reported Fleming suffered leg, foot and head injuries.
The trooper said the collision occurred about 11:57 p.m. Saturday night on OK-44 and East County Road 1130, approximately one-half mile north of Burns Flat in Washita County.
According to the report, Fleming was driving a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis northbound on OK 44. He swerved the vehicle to avoid a deer in the roadway. The vehicle then ran off the roadway to the left and struck a dirt embankment, the trooper said.
The vehicle came to rest in the bottom of a 10-foot ditch, Villines reported.
Condition of the driver at the time of the collision was apparently normal. The trooper listed cause of the collision as deer in roadway.
The car was equipped with seat belts, but not in use by the driver, the trooper stated.
Villines, of the Custer County detachment of Troop H, was assisted by Lt. Aaron Hunter, Trooper Pate Gossen, the Burns Flat Fire Department and EMS and the Washita County Sheriff’s office.