In October 2002, Berrien County Deputy Sheriff Wayne Purvis, Jr.’s patrol car collided with a deer, apparently causing the deer’s severed head to strike Nichole Francis Truett through the windshield of her oncoming vehicle. Truett died of her resulting injuries, and Jacqueline Steve, as administrator of Truett’s estate, filed a wrongful death action against Purvis, in his individual and official capacities, and against Berrien County. Following our grant of their application for interlocutory appeal, Purvis and the county appeal from the trial court’s denial of their motion for summary judgment. We reverse because Purvis and the county have demonstrated that there is no genuine issue of material fact as to any of Steve’s claims. “To prevail at summary judgment under OCGA § 9-11-56, the moving party must demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the undisputed facts, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, warrant judgment as a matter of law.” Lau’s Corp. v. Haskins , 261 Ga. 491 405 SE2d 474 1991. On appeal from the grant or denial of summary judgment, “we view the evidence and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.” Citation and footnote omitted. Snellgrove v. Hyatt Corp. , 277 Ga. App. 119, 119-120 625 SE2d 517 2006. So viewed, the evidence shows that on the evening of October 28, 2002, Purvis was dispatched from the Berrien County jail on a non-emergency call. As Purvis and Truett approached each other in opposite lanes of County Road 365, a deer ran in front of Purvis’s patrol car. The front driver’s side of Purvis’s car hit the deer, propelling the head and neck of the deer through the windshield of Truett’s vehicle and causing the deer’s antler to pierce Truett’s head. Truett’s car ran off the road and down a firebreak line into the woods. Purvis stopped his car in a ditch on the side of the road.
Purvis did not see what happened to Truett’s vehicle. The two cars were nearly side by side at the time of the collision, and Purvis was unsure if the other car also hit the deer or if the car kept going. While Purvis was calling his dispatch to let them know he hit a deer, Delma Moody stopped and asked Purvis if he needed help. Purvis told Moody that he “was sure there was another car,” and he asked her to check to see if there was another vehicle on the side of the road around the curve. Moody drove down the highway and did not see a second car, although she did see part of a deer in the ditch on the side of the road opposite from Purvis’s vehicle.
