A 69-year-old Galloway woman was pronounced dead at the scene Monday morning after a deer struck by one car was propelled into the vehicle she was driving near Moss Mill Road and Frankfurt Avenue. The crash happened at about 8:35 a.m., when a chain of events set off by a single animal on the roadway turned fatal within seconds.
According to nj.com, the crash occurred near the intersection of Moss Mill Road and Frankfurt Avenue in Galloway. A 30-year-old Egg Harbor City man was driving east on Moss Mill Road when he struck a deer, according to nj1015.com. The impact sent the deer into the path of a westbound Kia wagon driven by the Galloway woman, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the crash was ongoing as of the latest report, the station notes. Police asked anyone with information to contact Officer K. Reyes at 609-652-3705, extension 1125, as they continue piecing together exactly how the collision unfolded.
A Second Deadly Crash in Galloway Within Two Days
Monday's fatality marked the second fatal crash in Galloway Township in just two days, per the same report. A day earlier, a 20-year-old man driving a Mustang was killed when his car struck a utility pole after colliding with a Toyota sedan, the outlet reported. The Toyota's driver, a 61-year-old Egg Harbor City woman, was not hurt in that crash.
Monday's deer-related death was the 26th fatal crash recorded in Atlantic County so far this year, according to State Police records cited by the same source. Galloway police reminded drivers that deer activity is highest around dawn and dusk, the hours bracketing Monday morning's 8:35 a.m. collision.
Why Fall Is the Deadliest Season for Deer on NJ Roads
The timing fits a broader statewide pattern. New Jersey logged a record 11,692 deer crashes in 2025, nearly 2% more than the previous record set the year before, according to AAA Northeast. From 2020 through 2025, the state recorded 64,780 deer crashes, including more than 4,252 that caused injuries and 15 that proved fatal.
More than 43% of those crashes happened between September and November, AAA Northeast found, with November alone accounting for 20% of the total — the single most dangerous month on New Jersey roads for deer collisions. The group also found that injury rates climb sharply when drivers swerve to avoid an animal: just 4.5% of direct deer strikes caused injuries, compared with more than 27% when a driver swerved and hit another vehicle, a tree, a pole or a guardrail instead.
State Guidance on Avoiding a Deer in the Road
State officials have urged drivers to resist the instinct to swerve. Guidance from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Department of Transportation says motorists should drive according to conditions — accounting for speed, lighting, traffic, curves and weather — and should not swerve if a collision appears unavoidable, since a startled deer can suddenly change direction.
Galloway police echoed that advice following Monday's crash, warning that a sudden swerve can cause a driver to lose control or trigger a secondary collision. Officers advised braking firmly within one's own lane rather than swerving sharply if an animal enters the roadway, guidance that underscores how quickly a single deer in the road can turn into a multi-vehicle emergency.
