Hit a Deer Near Portland, Maine: Who to Call and Whether the Car Should Be Driven

October 15, 2026

Deer crashes in Maine peak in November, and Cumberland County records more of them than any other county. Here is what state law asks of a driver after the hit, and how to tell whether the car should leave on a truck.

November is the peak month for deer crashes in Maine

MaineDOT's animal crash tables count 30,322 deer crashes across Maine from 2020 through 2024. November alone accounted for 6,047 of them, more than any other month and well ahead of October's 3,654. MaineDOT ties the November spike to the breeding season, and its safety guidance notes that deer are most active around dawn and dusk and keep moving after dark, which is exactly when they are hardest to see.

Cumberland County, which includes Portland, recorded 4,061 deer crashes over those five years, the highest total of any county in Maine, with 827 in 2024 alone. Moose are a different story here: the county logged 12 moose crashes across the same period, so on the roads in and around Portland the large animal in the headlights is far more likely to be a deer.

Most of these crashes end without anyone hurt. Of the 30,322 statewide, 29,371 were property damage only. That leaves the hours after the hit mostly about three things: the report Maine law requires, whether the car can safely move, and how the damage gets paid for.

The first few minutes after the hit

Get the car out of the travel lane if it will move, as far onto the shoulder or into a lot as it safely can, and turn the hazard lights on. If anyone is hurt, call 911. If everyone is fine, the police non-emergency line is the right number, since Maine's 911 bureau asks callers to keep 911 for saving a life, reporting a fire or stopping a crime. If the car or the deer is blocking a lane and cannot be moved, say that first so the road can be cleared.

Stay away from the deer, even if it looks dead. An injured deer is a large, frightened animal, and handling it is a job for the officer, not the driver. Before anything is moved, take photos while the scene is still intact:

• The damage to the car, from both front corners and straight on.
• The road surface and the spot where the deer was hit.
• The nearest cross street, address or mile marker, and the time.
• Anyone who stopped and saw it, with a way to reach them later.

What Maine law requires after you hit a deer

Maine treats a collision with a deer as something the police need to hear about, even when nobody is hurt. Under Title 12, section 12403, the driver of a vehicle that collides with a deer, moose, bear or wild turkey must report it to a law enforcement officer by the quickest means available. Failing to report is a civil violation. Inside Portland that report goes to the city police department, and the State Police or the county sheriff's office will also take it.

The officer also decides what happens to the deer. If the car shows apparent damage from the collision, the officer issues a certificate that gives the driver ownership of the carcass. The law then lets that person take the entire animal from the scene, but not a portion of it, so anyone hoping to keep the venison takes the whole deer, and only with the certificate in hand.

A deer strike can also be a reportable crash under Title 29-A, section 2251, which covers any crash on a public way that injures someone or leaves apparent property damage at or above the threshold set in that section. That kind of crash has to be reported immediately, again by the quickest means, to the State Police, the sheriff's office or the local police where it happened. Both laws send the driver to the same place: a police officer, right away.

Can the car be driven after hitting a deer?

A deer usually meets the front of the car: the bumper cover, a headlight, the grille and whatever sits behind it, often the radiator. A car can start, idle and steer after that and still be the wrong thing to drive home. A coolant leak that looks minor can overheat an engine before the car gets there, and a hood that flies up at speed blinds the driver.

The general rule for a car that runs but should not be driven holds after a deer strike too: if it is leaking or it cannot light the road, it rides on a truck. Any one of these signs is a reason to leave the car where it is:

• Coolant, oil or any other fluid dripping under the front, or steam rising from the hood.
• A headlight that is out or pointing at the trees, on the dark roads where deer strikes happen.
• A hood that will not latch, or one buckled upward into the driver's view.
• Plastic or metal pushed against a front tire, or a wheel sitting at an odd angle.
• New warning lights on the dash, or an airbag that deployed.

When the car needs a tow, and which truck

Front-end damage after a deer strike is a strong case for a flatbed. The whole car rides on the bed, so a loose bumper cover, a cracked radiator or a bent wheel never touches the road on the way to the shop. Flatbed towing for a deer-damaged front end also delivers the car with its damage exactly as it was, which is what the insurance adjuster will want to see.

Because deer move most around dawn and dusk and keep traveling at night, many strikes happen in the dark, and emergency towing after a deer strike is often the quickest way off the shoulder. When calling a tow truck in the Portland area, have four things ready: where the car is, that it hit a deer, whether it rolls and steers, and where it should go, whether that is a body shop, a dealer or a home driveway.

Swerving causes its own trouble. MaineDOT's advice when a hit is unavoidable is to brake and steer straight rather than swerve, and a car that left the pavement trying to miss a deer may need winch-out recovery from the ditch before it can be loaded at all.

Insurance: comprehensive coverage, not collision

Damage from hitting an animal is generally paid under comprehensive coverage, the optional part of an auto policy that covers losses other than a collision with another vehicle or object. A policy with only liability coverage, or only collision coverage, will not pay for the driver's own car after a deer strike, and a comprehensive claim still carries its deductible.

Maine law adds one more point: the State is not liable for damage a wild animal does to a vehicle, so there is no claim to file against Maine itself. The photos, the time and place, and the name of the officer who took the report make the claim easier to document, so gather them before the car leaves on the truck.

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