A deer believed to be road kill and stashed inside a Michigan motorist’s trunk sprang to life early Tuesday after a public safety officer opened the trunk and received a surprise he may never forget. (The footage was captured by the Kalamazoo Public Safety Department.)

David Miller was on routine patrol in Kalamazoo at 2:20 a.m. when he saw a person sitting inside a vehicle parked behind a hotel.

According to Michigan Live, the man, a local resident, told Miller he had struck the deer accidentally on a nearby roadway and had planned to use the meat to feed his family.

The deer, as Miller discovered when he opened the trunk to inspect the animal, had other plans, and ultimately disappeared into the nearby woods.

The footage, understandably, has gone viral.

Stated the department in a news release: “Officers often are encountering unique situations. It was a fun story, to maybe get a smile on people’s faces for a change.”

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