Driver hits dead deer, crashes, dies

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - A man died after his vehicle hit a dead deer on a highway, rolled over and crashed off the side of the road.

Levi Francis was traveling north on U.S. 131 near Six Mile Road in Plainfield Township around 3:30 a.m. Friday, state police said in a news release.

A witness told state police Francis lost control of his vehicle after hitting the animal, and the car left the road at a high rate of speed, hit a large tree and rolled into a ditch.

Francis, 21 and from Belmont, was pronounced dead at the scene.

He was wearing his seat belt at the time, police say, and alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

The deer was hit and killed by a vehicle just shortly before Francis' incident occurred.