Ambulance hits deer on U.S. 63

COLUMBIA — An ambulance taking a patient to University Hospital hit about three deer on northbound U.S. 63 early Monday morning, Cpl. R.D. Kyle of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

Kyle said the deer were running from west to east into the path of the ambulance from the median. The driver, Rexx A. Morrison, 42, of Eldon, saw the deer and hit the brakes but still couldn’t avoid the animals. The deer ran away when people from the Missouri State Highway Patrol arrived at the scene.

Morrison was wearing a seat belt and wasn’t injured, according to a highway patrol crash report.

A paramedic, Matthew H. Parvin, 31, of Jamestown was moderately injured. Parvin was not wearing a seat belt because he was sitting in the bench seat in the back of the ambulance at the time, according to the report.

Parvin fell off the bench and got banged up as the brakes were hit, Kyle said.

Parvin was taken to University Hospital. He was treated and released.

The ambulance, which was transferring a nonemergency patient to University Hospital at about 1 a.m., belongs to Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City. The ambulance was traveling at normal highway speeds without emergency lights or sirens. The ambulance was not seriously injured and was able continue its trip.