The Night my Car Hit a Wolf
It was Awful, Just Awful.
Q: Have you ever hit an animal with your car?
Yes, and it was awful.
Years ago, I was driving from New Hampshire to North Carolina to visit my youngest daughter and four grandchildren while her husband, a Marine Corps sniper, was deployed yet again.
It was late at night on I-95 South, somewhere in Virginia. I was traveling in the middle lane, going with the traffic flow at about 70 mph.
It all happened so fast —there was a blur as something jumped out and ran in front of traffic from the median strip on the left.
Somehow, I missed hitting it and just as I was silently thanking The Powers That Be, there was another blur and this time, I wasn’t so lucky.
*WHAM!*
I heard metal dragging on the road and my windshield was splattered with blood, fur and who knows what else, so I turned on my hazard lights, put my right turn signal on, and inched my way to the right lane, then off onto the side of the road.
I got out of my car and surveyed the damage. What a bloody, furry mess it was—the left side of the front bumper was crumpled and dangling. That’s probably what was dragging on the road; the headlight was busted and its hollowed inside was caked with blood and fur. More blood and fur streaked the hood and on up, spreading like a thick paste across the driver’s side of the windshield.
Just as I was wondering how the hell I was going to finish my trip, a Walmart 18-wheeler pulled up behind me. Two guys got out and came over to where I was inspecting the damage. The tall older one spoke up, “So, you were the one who hit the second wolf.”
“Wolf? I hit a wolf?”
“You sure did. We hit the first one and obliterated it, but we still had to pull off the road to clean the mess off the front of the rig.”
“Great, just great. A wolf. They must be pretty big, because he, or she, wrecked my front bumper and it’s dragging.”
“We’ll wire it up for you, hang on. Yeah, wolves are huge. They usually travel in pairs when they’re mating. Wolves mate for life, did you know that?”
“Yes, I did hear that. Also mourning doves, eagles, beavers, swans, probably more, too. But this is the first time I’ve ever hit anything on the road.”
“We hit one, maybe two wolves, before this one. Last year, we hit a deer. Now, that was a big mess and it did more damage to the rig.”
The Walmart drivers were very helpful and kind. They wired the bumper up and I thanked them and continued on my trip to North Carolina without any more incidents.
Thank God it was all covered by my insurance.
Poet/Writer/Author of 5 books.
Quora Top Writer 2018.
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I hit a coyote some years ago. Fortunately, I was in my SUV so the car didn't really suffer much. I did see it and wasn't able to avoid it. That was the hardest part, to know that I was going to hit it and there was nothing I could do about it. I remember seeing it and thinking it was such a beautiful animal.