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"We did not see the deer," Mary Whitmere told The Signal on Monday. "It was not our intent to hit the deer. We feel so badly and never wanted this to happen."
Initially, a witness had said the vehicle that hit the deer about noon on Sunday was a black SUV, which left the scene after the collision. He also said the deer was plainly visible as it made its way down a hill toward Whites Canyon Road between Steinway Street and Heller Circle, an area devastated by fire last October.
But Whitmere said she and her husband, who were on their way home from church, didn't see the animal until it lurched into their lane on Whites Canyon Road just north of Steinway.
Whitmere added that her husband did stop immediately after the collision, which damaged the front grille and hood of their 2000 Ford Mustang. Several other vehicles stopped as well.
After talking to deputies from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station, who arrived at the scene moments after the collision, the Whitmeres were advised that they were free to leave without consequence.
The California Highway Patrol also arrived at the scene moments after the Whitmeres left.
Whitmere said a black sport-utility vehicle, which the witness said had hit the animal, was in the lane to her right.
After the collision, the deer crossed to the other side of Whites Canyon Road shortly before it died behind a brick wall.
