CHERRY RIDGE TOWNSHIP -- There have been so many wrecks involving deer lately in our area rental vehicles are hard to come by. In fact, a woman in Wayne County has been waiting for a rental since hitting a deer last week.
Deer are definitely on the move this time of year. Their coats even get darker, making them harder to see, especially at night.
It seems there's a shortage of rental vehicles around here at the moment, all because there's no shortage of crashes involving deer.
Workers are busy at Carcare Collision near Honesdale. Vehicles one after another are left crumpled and cracked thanks to crashes involving white-tailed deer.
"Especially in this area, it's unbelievable how many deer hits we're dealing with. I haven't seen it this way in maybe 10 years," Greg Koellner said.
Koellner showed us around the lot. Nearly all the vehicles have some evidence of run-ins with deer. So many, in fact, that Koellner says Enterprise Rent A Car next door has run out of vehicles.
"It's nothing like right now even the beginning of the season, deer rut season. Enterprise didn't have any cars, constant flow of people renting cars."
Michelle Erbach is one of those drivers in need of a rental but she hasn't been able to find one since hitting a deer late last week.
After Erbach posted on Facebook, a friend offered to lend her a vehicle otherwise, she's taken two days off of work and has needed help to get around.
"I had to have friends load their car up and take me to all these places and cart me around; I had to ask for help," Erbach said.
In fact, Erbach's vehicle was in another wreck before hitting a deer and is one of many in line for repairs at Carcare Collision.
"We never had a chance to schedule her in. Well, she hit another deer before we got to fix the car," Koellner said.
Erbach tells Newswatch 16 she's contacted car rentals all over the area but was told nothing was available due to so many crashes involving deer.
Until she finds a rental, borrowing a friend's vehicle will have to do.
"Thankfully, I was able to get some groceries, because we've been without for a few days. It's hard because it's getting close to the holidays and people are busy, you don't want to inconvenience anyone."
The closest Enterprise with a vehicle rental we could find was in Monroe County, more than 30 miles away.
Enterprise Rent A Car wouldn't speak to Newswatch 16 on camera about the shortage of rentals.