Story originally posted in the York Dispatch.

April 22, 2017: MEYERSDALE, Pa. - State game commission officials are investigating the deaths of four deer that jumped from a new bridge in western Pennsylvania.

The (Somerset) Daily American reports that the bucks fell to their deaths from a bridge being built for the new section of Route 219 near Meyersdale in Summit Township.

Wildlife conservation officer Shawn Barron of the Pennsylvania Game Commission said the animals died Tuesday night or early Wednesday.

Spokesman Anthony Scalia of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said the 50-foot-tall bridge is part of a four-lane highway being built between Somerset and Meyersdale.

Scalia said the animals may have been spooked by a car or an all-terrain vehicle, and when one jumped, so did the others. He said from the trauma they sustained, he believes they died instantly.

Deerbusters note to wildlife managers and highway administration: In short, deer fences save deer lives; and this could have been prevented.