CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Deer crashes through window of Matawan eyewear store

Candice Bridges tells News 12 she was helping a customer out front when she heard an explosion and saw a deer run right at her.

Jim Murdoch

Nov 9, 2023, 5:42 PM

Updated 260 days ago

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An eyewear store owner had the scare of her life on Wednesday when a deer ran full speed straight through her glass door and into the Matawan store.
Candice Bridges tells News 12 she was helping a customer out front - at the same time the eye doctor was mid-exam with a patient in the back - when she heard an explosion and saw a deer run right at her.
"I was running so fast Jesse Owens had nothing on me,” said Bridges. “I ran, I ran as fast as I could…you have to be here to experience it.”
David Austin and Shawn Johnson watched the events unfold out front and began recording the deer on their phones as Austrin tried coaxing it outside.
"The deer was getting crazy. It was breaking everything, so I held the door open, ‘Come on buddy, come on,’ just trying to get him to come out the front door," said Austin.
The deer finally ran back through the door, held open by Austin and Johnson.
"I was in shock for about an hour, about an hour. I was in disbelief! This only happens on television, or this doesn't happen at all. It'll never happen to me. It was just disbelief sitting there in shock and not really saying anything," added a still-stunned Bridges.
She said she didn't know if her insurance would cover an "act of deer" but she's thankful damage inside was kept at a minimum thanks to the help of the two young men outside.


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