An 80-year-old man from Moline, Illinois, had to be cut out of his overturned Subaru Forester after swerving to avoid a deer sent his SUV through a fence and into a pasture in rural Grant County, Wisconsin, on Saturday. Michael Stoner was driving west on County Road U near Rattlesnake Road in Beetown Township around 1:12 p.m. when the crash happened, and crews from two volunteer fire departments worked to free him from the wreckage.
According to a Grant County Sheriff's Office statement reported by KCTN, Stoner swerved to the right to avoid a deer in the road, sending his 2026 Subaru Forester off the north side of County Road U, through a fence, and into a pasture, where it rolled over. The sheriff's office was assisted by the Cassville Fire Department, Cassville EMS, the Bloomington Fire Department, and Arrow Towing out of Lancaster, according to WMTV 15 News. Stoner was trapped inside the overturned vehicle until the Cassville and Bloomington fire departments extricated him.
Cassville EMS then transported Stoner to Grant Regional Health Center in Lancaster, roughly 15 miles northeast of the crash site, for evaluation of non-life-threatening injuries, per the same KCTN account. He is expected to recover.
A Rural Crossroads Known for Steep Terrain
The crash site sits near the intersection of County Road U and Rattlesnake Road, in a stretch of southwestern Wisconsin's Driftless Area marked by steep ridges and waterways feeding the Grant River, including Rattlesnake Creek, according to PaddleWays. Rural two-lane county highways in this terrain often have limited shoulders bordered directly by agricultural pastures, leaving little margin when a vehicle leaves the roadway.
That geography compounds an already elevated risk for deer encounters in the area. Grant County ranked ninth among all Wisconsin counties for deer-vehicle collisions in 2023, with 490 reported crashes that year, as noted in a release from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Why October Is Peak Deer Season
The timing of Saturday's crash lines up with the most dangerous stretch of the year for deer on Wisconsin roads. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says the vast majority of deer-vehicle collisions occur during October and November, coinciding with the fall breeding season, or rut, when white-tailed deer movement increases significantly.
State traffic safety officials have long urged drivers to resist the instinct Stoner followed. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation's guidance instructs motorists to brake firmly and stay in their lane if a collision with a deer appears imminent, warning that swerving often leads to rollovers, collisions with fixed objects, or crashes into oncoming traffic. Hoodline reported last month on a fatal ambulance crash tied to a deer swerve.
Insurance Stakes When a Driver Swerves
Beyond the physical danger, swerving can carry financial consequences that a direct hit typically does not. The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance notes that while direct collisions with deer are generally classified under comprehensive auto policies, secondary accidents caused by swerving, such as hitting a fence or pasture property, are often treated as collision claims where the driver may be held liable.
The Grant County Sheriff's Office responded to Saturday's crash, which sent Stoner's vehicle through a fence and left it overturned.
Stoner's extrication involved a response from multiple local agencies. Cassville Fire Department and Bloomington Fire Department worked together on the extrication, backed by Cassville EMS and Arrow Towing, illustrating the kind of multi-jurisdictional response rural crashes often require when specialized equipment isn't available in a single township.
