MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — A Florida woman died in Montgomery County after a motorcycle hit a deer Monday evening.
According to the Montgomery County Department of Police, officers were called to the 21400 block of Beallsville Road near Sellman Road just before 8:45 p.m.
When officers and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue arrived, they found 53-year-old Michelle Lee Beach of Dunedin, Florida, who had been thrown from her motorcycle after hitting a deer.
Beach was taken to an area hospital where she died from her injuries a short time later.
Investigators believe Beach was riding her pink 2007, Suzuki GXSR 600 following another motorcycle on Beallsville Road when she hit the deer.
The investigation is ongoing.
The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources offers the following tips to drivers to avoid hitting deer:
- Slow down and be attentive, particularly at night (from dusk to dawn). If one deer crosses the road as you approach, others are likely to follow.
- Deer habitually travel the same areas. Use caution when you see deer crossing signs installed in these areas by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
- Apply brakes, even stop if necessary, to avoid hitting a deer, but never swerve out of the lane to miss a deer. A collision with another vehicle, tree, or other object is likely to be more serious than hitting a deer.
- Always wear a seat belt! Even if a collision is unavoidable, you are more likely to avoid injury or death if you are wearing a seat belt.
- If you hit or kill a deer or bear while driving, immediately report the accident to a Conservation Police Officer or other law enforcement officer in the county or city where the accident occurred.
- If you kill a deer or bear while driving, you may keep it for your own use if you report the accident to a law enforcement officer where the accident occurred and the officer views the animal and gives you a possession certificate.
An officer's body camera footage shows the harrowing moments a deer successfully crosses several lanes of traffic on Interstate 66.