A passenger in a car traveling north on Interstate 35 in Carlton County was seriously injured Wednesday morning when the 2000 Subaru Forester hit a deer.
The Minnesota State Patrol reports that the deer was forced into the car through the windshield, causing serious injuries to 20-year-old passenger Muhammad Bajwa.
The driver, Alison Price-Newman, 46, of Burnsville, Minn., had minor injuries.
The accident was reported at 10:45 a.m. and occurred just south of the Minnesota Highway 210 exit.
The crash is a reminder that deer are on the move this time of year. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says one-third of deer-vehicle crashes in the state occur in October and November.
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Minnesota is ranked eighth when it comes to the number of deer-related accidents, according to State Farm Insurance, which tracks the trends nationwide. While most states have seen a decline in accidents, Minnesota and Wyoming have seen an increase, the DNR reported.
More than 20,000 deer-vehicle accidents are reported annually in the state, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The DNR says it's impossible to know when a deer might enter a roadway, but about 20 percent of crashes occur in early morning and more than half occur between 5 p.m. and midnight.
