Police: Deer shot illegally jumps out of pickup truck bed

BERNE, N.Y. – Authorities say two men hunting illegally in a rural upstate New York town got a big surprise when the deer they had just shot jumped out of the back of their pickup truck.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation say Albany County sheriff’s deputies responded Thanksgiving night to a report of someone shooting a rifle from pickup in the town of Berne.

After the deputies stopped the vehicle a DEC officer arrived and found fresh blood on the truck’s tailgate and rear bumper, along with hunting clothing, rifles and spotlights inside the vehicle.

Officials say the passenger said he had shot a buck that had run in front of the truck. The men loaded the deer into the truck bed and drove off, but the deer jumped out.

The deer was located soon after and put down.