By Veronica Hernandez
As deer collisions rise during the winter, some Wayland residents are concerned about wildlife and public safety.
While it might appear there are more deer-vs.-car accidents, Acting Police Chief Mark Hebert said there has not been an increase in deer collisions in Wayland.
Since November 2025, Wayland has seen a total of 13 deer-involved incidents, according to Wayland public safety logs.
As the owner of Boardman’s Animal Control, Jennifer Condon also operates in neighboring towns, such as Concord and Lincoln. Since November, Concord has had five deer-involved incidents, and Lincoln has had six, according to police logs from The Concord Bridge and The Lincoln Squirrel.
Condon said an increase in deer accidents during the wintertime is normal, but some community members are uneasy. “From November to December is the highest time that the deer get hit because it’s the rut and they’re mating,” she said.
Cara Bertoni, a Sudbury resident whose daughter goes to preschool in Wayland, said she sees deer in both towns about once or twice a month and frequently hears about collisions involving the animals.
“I think people are just distracted when they’re driving, and our local towns have a lot of winding roads,” Bertoni said. “It’s hard to really see super far ahead of you.”
Kate Hollis, a part-time employee at the Wayland Public Library, said she never saw deer in Waltham before she moved to north Wayland in 2020. Now, she sees them often on her way home from work.
“I tend to see them more at night,” she said. “I notice them more in the winter because you can see their footprints.”
The Wayland Police Department protocol for deer-vehicle collisions is similar to that of a traffic incident, according to Hebert. When the department gets a call, officers assess the damage, make a report and log the incident. WPD collaborates with animal control if a deceased deer needs to be removed from the “public way.”
Deer collisions are “impossible” to avoid, said Condon. “Sometimes at the last minute [deer] just jump out in front of you, and you don’t even have a chance to correct it.”
“[Deer collisions are] a rather common experience for drivers,” Herbert said. “If they need us, call us. They can always report the accident to us, and we’ll come investigate it.”
Although she has not been in an accident with a deer or witnessed one, Hollis said she sees Facebook posts about these types of incidents on the Wayland community forum. As someone who is “wildlife-minded,” she said, “I just hate to hear of anybody getting hurt and having a hard time navigating the realities of living in a place with nature.”
Luke Acton, a Natick resident who works in Wayland, said he sees more deer in Wayland than in Natick. “Natick is more developed,” he said. “There’s more woods [in Wayland], so I’ve definitely seen some driving around, especially at night.”
In the Wildlife in Wayland Facebook community, members shared their experiences of being in or witnessing car accidents with deer. “About three, four houses up the hill from Sherman’s Bridge, a huge buck leapt out and smashed into the right side of my car,” one member wrote. “I was horrified that I had killed it, but it rolled and jumped up, ran back up the hill.”
Another member wrote about encountering a young woman on Concord Road late one January evening who had just hit a deer and was “pretty shook up.” The accident damaged the left tire and the front driver’s side of the woman’s car.
Bertoni said she has not been in an accident with a deer but knows someone who hit a deer last spring and totaled their car. “It was challenging, I think, because of being without a car and the insurance,” he said. “You have to file an insurance claim and [there is a] possibility that it’s not covered.”
