In my perspective, the road was clear of hazards. Had I seen the carcass in the road, I wouldn't have taken a drink of anything. Holding the cup in front of my nose, I could see the sides of the road, as I expected them to run out from the side. But this one was already dead, right in my lane. I put the cup to my nose, count 1,2 cup down dead Deer in the headlights. It's that quick.
On top of that, I was really going that slow. It was somewhat foggy that night. I could still see just fine, but in my area foggy nights is when the deer come out. I didn't hit the other two because I had expected deer in the fog. So I hit the brakes, locked them up while throwing my coffee cup to the floor, by the time I got my right hand back on the wheel, I made contact with the dead deer.
Rest of the story: the CRX is lowered, with a garden-trim airdam on it. There is 0 clearance under that car. But when the front urothane folded, with the plastic garden trim attached, it formed a 24 inch long ramp to slide the car on top of the deer. Since the suspension is nice and tight, the car got high-centered on the deer carcass and suddenly I was sliding down the hill on TOP of the deer. The engine stalled, and I was 4-wheels-up riding this dead animal right into the ditch. When we reached the curb, the CRX was dislodged from the deer, traction was regained and I came to a stop.
I had no flashlight to check the oil pan, so I decided to call the police. From what I saw on the road, it was SOAKED. I had no clue if that was car fluid, or blood so I waited for the cop.
Cop showed up, I used his light, and everything on the car was fine. The road was covered in blood and dear guts. When I rode the corpse down the hill, I grated the underside of the deer off, and slid on it's guts. Upon hitting the curb the deer flipped over, two legs snapped off and it's head split in two. The cop asked me to help him pull the carcass off the road. This is where it gets funny.
The smell of an open animal is horrendous. Its intestines were lining the area around it, and the smell could knock a buzzard off a shit wagon. The cop grabbed the "open side" rear leg, and I grabbed the "Closed side" leg and we pulled it to the side of the road. The cop's deer leg came off, the cop ran into the bushes and puked. He had to dispatch a firetruck to come and wash the remains from the road. Next day, the road was stained red for about 30 square feet. It was truly a gross night.
My damage: Radiator support was definately bent. Radiator was cracked and bent, but the body was fine. The bumper supports under the bumper skin caused the paint to crack but the car really held up well. Pulled the bumper out with my hands and that's how it sits today.
So don't let the Tiny CRX fool you, they are tough little buggers.
-> Steve
Picture of the CRX's front