# I ran over a rabbit



## Orion619 (Jul 15, 2009)

On my way home, it's midnight and the road is dark and empty(or so I thought). I see a tiny stationary spec up ahead.. about 1-2 seconds later, I realized I was about to hit a bunny. I swerved hard to the left but the damn thing sprinted towards my trajectory and *thud*

"I couldn't have ran over it, maybe it hit my bumper and bounced off" I say. I turn the car around and saw the helpless thing trying to move about, it's still alive while part of its body is crushed.. :sad:

I slowly drove off, and didn't want to take another peek. I can't give the damn thing a c-spine or perform ABCs or call 911 nor do I have a shovel and end it's suffering immediately. I took care of 2 rabbits not too long ago for several months. I just can't help but feel bad about it.


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## bmennig (Jul 15, 2009)

You should have just backed up and over him therefore finishing him off. Sounds terrible but it's better than suffering. The police shoot the deer that are still alive after being hit, it's all you can do.


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## Sasha (Jul 15, 2009)

Omg poor bunny!

I hit a racoon once... It was killed instantly but that thing was left in the road for like two weeks, so I could feel guilty about taking a mommy raccoon away from it's raccoon babies everytime I went to or from work!


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## chadwick (Jul 15, 2009)

I hate to hit animals, there are a few people I would like to plow into every so often. I hit a rabbit about a year ago. We had to blow the air horn at a bunch of kittens tonight on a rural road. What scares me is how many deer seem to commit suicide by ambulance around here. My partner and I were close enough to one that I could have stuck my hand out the window and slapped some sense into it.


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## Onceamedic (Jul 15, 2009)

last shift, we hit a bunny, a bird and a 2 1/2 foot rattlesnake...    I've been  calling my partner the great white hunter ever since.


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## HotelCo (Jul 15, 2009)

You should have backed up and ran over it a few more time, to end it's pain. Better than just leaving it in the road in pain, in my opinion.


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## PapaBear434 (Jul 15, 2009)

I'm going to combine the subject of the thread with the point of this forum.

I hit a seagul before.  With the ambulance.  Going lights and siren.  It flew right into the box above the cab, knocked out a chunk of the light bar.  Then it landed in the gulf between the windshield and the wiper blades.


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## HotelCo (Jul 15, 2009)

PapaBear434 said:


> I'm going to combine the subject of the thread with the point of this forum



Well this is the "EMS Lounge". "Sit back, relax, and start up discussion with fellow medics." So, pretty much anything goes in here. It doesn't have to be all EMS, all the time.


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## spisco85 (Jul 15, 2009)

One of the ambulances at the company I work for was hit by deer. The deer jumped right into the side of the ambulance on a highway. The deer did not do to well.


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## Pudge40 (Jul 15, 2009)

bmennig said:


> You should have just backed up and over him therefore finishing him off. Sounds terrible but it's better than suffering. The police shoot the deer that are still alive after being hit, it's all you can do.



The police around my area won't. Whenever they fire their weapon they have to file a report. That means more paperwork for them.


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## HotelCo (Jul 15, 2009)

Pudge40 said:


> The police around my area won't. Whenever they fire their weapon they have to file a report. That means more paperwork for them.



Up north (northern Michigan) people will just stop, pull out their rifle and kill them, then just keep on going.


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## medic417 (Jul 15, 2009)

Why didn't you go back wring its neck and take it home and chicken fry it?  Rabbit tastes better than chicken.


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## subliminal1284 (Jul 15, 2009)

First off NEVER SWERVE! If you cant avoid from hitting an animal safely especially a small animal just run it over. Its not worth the risk. It is alot better than you swerving to avoid the animal and driving straight into a tree, ditch or another vehicle.


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## Epi-do (Jul 15, 2009)

When I first came on shift at my current job, I was driving the ambulance, headed to training.  A large dog (think lab sized, maybe a little bit bigger) ran out in front of me.  It was a two lane road, and there was oncoming traffic.  Not a darn thing I could do.  Needless to say, I got him with all three tires on the passenger's side of the truck.  To make matters worse, a few months prior to that the dog's owner had his house burn down.

He did get a new dog; he now has part of his yard fenced; and he doesn't let the new dog out off of a leash.  I felt horrible about it.  When we finally did arrive at training I was greeted with barking.  For lunch that day we had hot dogs.  Sometimes you just gotta love firefighters...


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## Chelle (Jul 15, 2009)

subliminal1284 said:


> First off NEVER SWERVE! If you cant avoid from hitting an animal safely especially a small animal just run it over. Its not worth the risk. It is alot better than you swerving to avoid the animal and driving straight into a tree, ditch or another vehicle.



Thank you.  I tell my kids this all the time.


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## Pudge40 (Jul 15, 2009)

subliminal1284 said:


> First off NEVER SWERVE! If you cant avoid from hitting an animal safely especially a small animal just run it over. Its not worth the risk. It is alot better than you swerving to avoid the animal and driving straight into a tree, ditch or another vehicle.



Our insurance agent told us that we should never swerve. If we do and hit something then the deductable kicks in because it falls under collision instead of some other coverage.


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## rmellish (Jul 15, 2009)

PapaBear434 said:


> I'm going to combine the subject of the thread with the point of this forum.
> 
> I hit a seagul before.  With the ambulance.  Going lights and siren.  It flew right into the box above the cab, knocked out a chunk of the light bar.  Then it landed in the gulf between the windshield and the wiper blades.



minus the damage, I can do you one slightly better. I hit a bat one night running emergent. Got stuck on the windshield wiper all the way to scene...


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## usafmedic45 (Jul 15, 2009)

Pudge40 said:


> The police around my area won't. Whenever they fire their weapon they have to file a report. That means more paperwork for them.


The area I grew up in, almost every volunteer FF had a gun in their vehicle (hunters and/or just plain rednecks).  Normally one of them would do it because they did not have to file a report.  There never seemed to be a problem over this except when more than one of them wanted the deer in question.


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## usafmedic45 (Jul 15, 2009)

I am sort of infamous in some circles here for picking up an injured turkey and taking it back to my parents' house to recuperate.  Suffice to say that I would leave some people laying in the middle of the road suffering before I would leave an animal in the same situation.  There were photos of this (and of the turkey, wrapped in my raincoat and seatbelted into the backseat of our car) courtesy of my girlfriend at the time. When my medical director heard about this he bestowed upon me a certificate conferring my first fellow status.



Sincerely,

Stephen XXXXXXXXXXX, CRT, FAAEtM*

*- Fellow, American Academy of Emerge-turkey Medicine


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## reaper (Jul 15, 2009)

Best advice I received as a kid.

If it is smaller then a cow, run it over!

Too many accidents caused by people swerving to avoid a rabbit or squirrel!


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## Sasha (Jul 15, 2009)

reaper said:


> Best advice I received as a kid.
> 
> If it is smaller then a cow, run it over!
> 
> Too many accidents caused by people swerving to avoid a rabbit or squirrel!



But i love rabbits :[


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## usafmedic45 (Jul 15, 2009)

Sasha said:


> But i love rabbits :[


Enough to die for one?


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## Medic744 (Jul 15, 2009)

My partner and I were sitting at a red light when a dove flew smack into our truck, fortunately they were in season, JK.  On of the local FF ran over a Mommy duck and her babies in the fire truck, in front of a group of small children.  He couldn't avoid it but we haven't let him live it down yet.


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## Sasha (Jul 15, 2009)

usafmedic45 said:


> Enough to die for one?



But.... but... I love bunnies!

If only they could learn to stay away from the road!


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## Ridryder911 (Jul 15, 2009)

Sasha said:


> But.... but... I love bunnies!
> 
> If only they could learn to stay away from the road!



Bunnies are at Easter, rabbits are at dinnertime. 

R/r 911


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## Shishkabob (Jul 15, 2009)

Ridryder911 said:


> Bunnies are at Easter, rabbits are at dinnertime.
> 
> R/r 911



She doesn't celebrate Easter.



I ran over a squirrel a couple of months back.  It ran in to the road, so I ran the middle of my car over it.  Started out good and I started to think "He lived".. then I heard a clunk.   I stopped once I could see him (it was a residential road) and I saw him stick his head up.  At that very moment a car came around the corner and CLUNK.


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## Sasha (Jul 15, 2009)

Ridryder911 said:


> Bunnies are at Easter, rabbits are at dinnertime.
> 
> R/r 911



:[  I dont like rabbits in that sort of way.


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## Sasha (Jul 15, 2009)

Linuss said:


> She doesn't celebrate Easter.



Actually, I do. I celebrate it as a time to be with my family and friends and watch the children have a blast hunting eggs.


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## Shishkabob (Jul 15, 2009)

So do you celebrate it, or do you use it as family time?


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## Sasha (Jul 15, 2009)

Linuss said:


> So do you celebrate it, or do you use it as family time?



I celebrate the holiday and what it means to me. What it means to me is a time to be with family and friends and watch the children enjoy themselves, and eat a ton of food.


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## Shishkabob (Jul 15, 2009)

So... do you celebrate Easter the holiday... or do you celebrate the family?



Legit question.


EDIT: Not trying to do ANOTHER atheist battle, just trying to get something figured out.


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## reaper (Jul 15, 2009)

I am sure that she enjoys the American easter, that has nothing to do with religion. Hallmark has made sure of that. She can celebrate easter has in having egg hunts and easter baskets. You can celebrate it as the resurrection day. It is a personal choice of which way you go!


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## Sasha (Jul 15, 2009)

Linuss said:


> So... do you celebrate Easter the holiday... or do you celebrate the family?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



What don't you get? I celebrate the HOLIDAY. I celebrate WHAT IT MEANS TO ME. Not that it's any of your business!


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## HotelCo (Jul 16, 2009)

And... the Easter thing is over. Let's not hijack this thread. PM if you want to discuss it further, thanks. 

Back on topic: If I'm on a city street and there is an animal in the road, I'll stop until it moves. That gets some people mad, but so be it.


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## Ridryder911 (Jul 16, 2009)

Rabbits, opossum, armadillos..kitties, puppies, You name it, (we try to avoid small children)small enough to go under the bumper will get ran over. That is just part of the business. Animals will hear the siren and be attracted as well I do believe there are some suicide attacks occasionally as they will purposely dart in front of me.. even birds having been doing that lately? 

R/r 911


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## Sasha (Jul 16, 2009)

I avoid hitting animals if it is possible to do it safely.


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## Medic744 (Jul 16, 2009)

We have yet to hit them in our POVs but our station is next to a large wooded area and we have a group of deer that scamper all over our property and then into the neighborhood on the other side of us.  We haven't hit them, but we do have deer feeders out and Im sure anybody that hunts knows why.


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## NomadicMedic (Jul 16, 2009)

My partner nailed an opossum on Saturday night with the truck as we were returning from a call. 

She felt awful about it. 

Me? Not so much.


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## Orion619 (Jul 17, 2009)

subliminal1284 said:


> First off NEVER SWERVE! If you cant avoid from hitting an animal safely especially a small animal just run it over. Its not worth the risk. It is alot better than you swerving to avoid the animal and driving straight into a tree, ditch or another vehicle.



I wouldn't say never, I definitely think there are some situations when it can be used depending on the situation, traffic, speed, car, road size. This street/area is pretty wide, 2 lane on both sides and a broken yellow center lane @ approx 35mph. 

My split second decision thought process:
see rabbit, too close for brakes, opposing lanes are clear of obstacles, evasive maneuver. 

Now if there was an obstacle or something of that nature close by, I wouldn't have hesitated to run over it.


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## CAOX3 (Jul 17, 2009)

reaper said:


> Best advice I received as a kid.
> 
> If it is smaller then a cow, run it over!
> 
> Too many accidents caused by people swerving to avoid a rabbit or squirrel!



Smaller then a cow?  What the hell our you driving Grave digger?


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## reaper (Jul 17, 2009)

Hitting a cow will kill you! Hitting anything smaller will just kill you car!


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## subliminal1284 (Jul 17, 2009)

Orion619 said:


> I wouldn't say never, I definitely think there are some situations when it can be used depending on the situation, traffic, speed, car, road size. This street/area is pretty wide, 2 lane on both sides and a broken yellow center lane @ approx 35mph.
> 
> My split second decision thought process:
> see rabbit, too close for brakes, opposing lanes are clear of obstacles, evasive maneuver.
> ...



Yes I agree if you can SAFELY avoid hitting it do so by either hitting the brakes or manuvering out of the way. But suddenly swerving and attempting an evasive maneuver is not worth the risk.


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## Mountain Res-Q (Jul 17, 2009)

Orion619 said:


> On my way home, it's midnight and the road is dark and empty(or so I thought). I see a tiny stationary spec up ahead.. about 1-2 seconds later, I realized I was about to hit a bunny. I swerved hard to the left but the damn thing sprinted towards my trajectory and *thud*
> 
> "I couldn't have ran over it, maybe it hit my bumper and bounced off" I say. I turn the car around and saw the helpless thing trying to move about, it's still alive while part of its body is crushed.. :sad:
> 
> I slowly drove off, and didn't want to take another peek. I can't give the damn thing a c-spine or perform ABCs or call 911 nor do I have a shovel and end it's suffering immediately. I took care of 2 rabbits not too long ago for several months. I just can't help but feel bad about it.



Squirrels, chipmunks, skunks, raccoons, a wayward dog, and even deer… but never a rabbit.  I’m still waiting to smash into Big Foot, which some believe live in my neck of the woods.  Simple fact is that often times these creatures are suicidal and you can either swerve/slam on breaks and risk your own life, or gentle reduce speed and hope that you can stop safely, or they move.  Sad, but it happens, and I will not risk my life and other drivers for the sake of a squirrel.

Back the car up and finish it off… the only humane thing to do… been their, done than…  or call Dispatch and request an air ambulance...  

In my county HBC deer are a fact of life.  Deputies get to come out if they are still "kicking" and finish them off.  Oh, the stories...  Most recently...  a deputy gets called out to finish one of, but a redneck was driving by and took out his buck knife and slit the throat... incorrectly... didn't completely kill it.  Deputy shows up and puts a couple shots into the head.  But the blood vessels are cut and no blood is geting to the head... so no blood splater from the shot.  Now a rumor is spreading around town that our deputy missed all three shots at point blank range.


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## MSDeltaFlt (Jul 17, 2009)

Orion619 said:


> On my way home, it's midnight and the road is dark and empty(or so I thought). I see a tiny stationary spec up ahead.. about 1-2 seconds later, I realized I was about to hit a bunny. I* swerved hard to the left* but the damn thing sprinted towards my trajectory and *thud*
> 
> "I couldn't have ran over it, maybe it hit my bumper and bounced off" I say. I turn the car around and saw the helpless thing trying to move about, it's still alive while part of its body is crushed.. :sad:
> 
> I slowly drove off, and didn't want to take another peek. I can't give the damn thing a c-spine or perform ABCs or call 911 nor do I have a shovel and end it's suffering immediately. I took care of 2 rabbits not too long ago for several months. *I just can't help but feel bad about it*.


 
I have pronounced a man dead on scene once because he tried to swerve to keep from hitting a squirrel that darted out in front of his vehicle on a country road.  I almost stepped in his 8th grade education while trying to assess him because his head got caught between his truck and the ground popping it like a zit.  Gross, but true.

It is easier said than done, I agree.  And I fully realize that what I am about to say will more than likely rub some people completely the wrong way.  However, human beings are at the top of the food chain.  No animal on the planet is more important than we are.  Please do not swerve hard to miss little animals.  It is safer for everyone to just run over them and let them die.


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## Mountain Res-Q (Jul 17, 2009)

MSDeltaFlt said:


> It is easier said than done, I agree.  And I fully realize that what I am about to say will more than likely rub some people completely the wrong way.  However, human beings are at the top of the food chain.  No animal on the planet is more important than we are.  Please do not swerve hard to miss little animals.  It is safer for everyone to just run over them and let them die.



No arguments here... doesn't rub me wrong.  It is interesting though, that instinct takes over in cases like this.  You really have no conscious control over your split second reactions.  You are going to react how you have been conditioned (or not conditioned) to react.  My gut instinct with animals in the road is to try and safely reduce speed... but I will not die to save any animal (except my own).  Human/Child in the road... different story.

As some may know, I was in an accident recently in which a girl ran a stop sign and came at me head on.  I've tried to relive the incident in my head and figure out why and how I reacted as I did.  But it was all instinct that I have no conscious control over.  I swerved left to avoid the head on and back right to keep myself on the road.  There was no oncoming traffic that I could have hit in doing so.  Not only did I swere, but I never locked the breaks, which would have resulted in a roll over on my part.  I can't figure out why I reacted the way I did, but it was clear afterward that my actions prevented a trip to the ICU for the other driver and reduced the likelyhood of more damage and injury to me and my vehcile.  Gut instinct and reaction?  Probably; logical or not.  Luck?  Maybe...


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