A sergeant in the Chadron Police Department escaped serious injury Friday morning when his patrol car was struck in the side by a deer on a northwest residential area of the town.

Chief Tim Lordino says Sgt Mike Loutzenhiser was on regular patrol about 6 am near 1st-and-Maple when the deer hit the driver’s door of the cruiser. Loutzenhiser was wearing his seat belt and was not hurt.

Lordino described the damage to the car as just a few small dents, but the Nebraska State Patrol…which handled the accident report to avoid any conflict of interest issues…put the dollar amount at $1,000.