Patriot Guard rider hits deer while heading to Robins AFB on his Harley-Davidson

The moon was nearly full early Friday as Doug Brawner was headed to work on a mild November morning.

About 5:30 a.m., Brawner was riding his Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic from his Jones County home to Robins Air Force Base when a deer jumped out on Upper River Road, just across the Bibb County line.

“I didn’t have anywhere to go and just nailed it,” Brawner said at the scene.

Macon-Bibb County firefighters and paramedics from the Medical Center, Navicent Health, responded to the crash near Haslett Drive and found Brawner on the side of the road.

“A little sore, very sore,” he said, as he hobbled around on the grass.

The deer “floundered about a bit” before getting up and running off, said Brawner, a member of the Patriot Guard.

The crash dented the front fender, and the 980-pound motorcycle also scraped the pavement as he went down.

Brawner was able to joke about the accident with the first responders, including a Bibb County sheriff’s deputy.

He was checked out in the ambulance but was going to let his wife drive him to the hospital for a full examination.

“Very lucky. It could have been a lot worse,” he said.

This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 6:56 AM with the headline "Patriot Guard rider hits deer while heading to Robins AFB on his Harley-Davidson."