TOPEKA (KSNT) – A local mother says things could have ended much worse after she hit a deer on I-70 with her infant son in the backseat.

Topekan Billie Fox was traveling home from Council Grove in the early evening of Friday, June 21. She was driving through Wabaunsee County when she noticed a deer on the opposite side of the road. She told 27 News before she knew it, the animal was right in front of her car.

“I tried to slow down but it didn’t work,” Fox said. “When he smacked my windshield I pretty much didn’t know what to do, but I was like I got my little one in the backseat let’s get to the side of the road.”

She said panic set in when the deer burst through the windshield and into her lap, but she stayed focused on protecting her son.

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“I freaked out,” Fox said, “but I was like I gotta get out of here so I can check on my baby.”

That’s exactly what she did. With the deer still in her lap, Fox managed to get her car to the shoulder so she could pull her son out of the backseat.

“The deer had threw my car in park,” Fox said. “It was like if I don’t get to the side I’ll be in the middle of the interstate.”

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Fox had the car sent to Lewis Collision Center in Topeka. The dealership experts told 27 News the deer caused about $15,000 in damage and that the car is totaled.

Fox said she has a lingering back injury, but she’s grateful her baby is okay. She told 27 News the Wabaunsee County Sheriff’s Department extremely helpful.

“They said it was pretty much a miracle that it wasn’t worse,” Fox said.

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