'Dead' deer jumps out of trunk

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) - It was a scene similar to one in "Tommy Boy."

Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Officer David Miller was on routine patrol, around 2:20 a.m. Tuesday, and checking parking lots.

He encountered a suspicious person sitting in a parked vehicle behind a hotel in the 3700 block of E. Cork Street.

Officer Miller contacted the male, a Kalamazoo area resident, and the two had a brief discussion.

Miller's attention was drawn to the trunk area of the vehicle. The man unexpectedly hit the trunk release and said, "I hit a deer, I figured you would want to see it."

The vehicle owner claimed to have a dead deer in the trunk. He said he accidently hit the animal with his car on an outlying area roadway, according to a news release.

The man told Officer Miller he intended on utilizing the meat from the road kill to feed his family.

Officer Miller asked the man if he could inspect the deer to see if it had been properly tagged and accounted for, and the man agreed.

Officer Miller cautiously opened the trunk and was very surprised to see the deer very much alive.

-- Watch the dashcam video, from an officer's vehicle --

The deer sprang from the trunk, jumped to the ground, fell down, got up and then ran to a nearby wooded area.

The car owner was at a loss for words, police said, after realizing the deer was not as wounded as he initially had thought.