Boy breaks jaw upon hitting deer

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - It may sound like something out of a cartoon, but when Eddie Coughlin was playing manhunt and collided with a deer, it was no joking matter.

Eddie, 13, of Freehold Township, was playing the game (a variation of hide-andseek that is played in the dark) with his sister, Kelsey, 15, and some friends, on Koster Drive, the block he lives on, at 9 p.m. July 7 when a deer ran across the street. Eddie happened to be running down the dark street at the same time, and apparently neither the deer nor Eddie saw each other. The deer hit Eddie on the left side of his jaw and they both fell down.

"I saw a beige flash in my face and then I was on the ground," Eddie said. "I didn't know what hit me. I was in lots of pain after. When I heard it was a deer, I was surprised."

It is believed that the deer was grazing behind some bushes where the children were playing and became frightened and ran out into the street.

Kelsey witnessed the aftermath of the incident. She said, "I was running up the hill and my brother was chasing me. I heard a giant smack, and when I turned around Eddie was on the floor and the deer had fallen down and was getting up. It ran away into the woods. I ran to my brother. He was screaming and couldn't move. Me and my friends picked him up and we called my mom. We carried him to a neighbor's house and he spit out blood. His face was all scratched."

The children's mother, Amy Coughlin, did not know what to expect when she ran out into the street after receiving the call.

Coughlin said, "Kelsey called and said, 'Mom, Eddie got hit and he's screaming.' I thought it was a car that had hit him. When I heard it was a deer, I couldn't believe it, but I was still worried. After all the damage that deer do to cars when they hit them, it was amazing that Eddie wasn't hurt worse. I'm so lucky to have him alive."

According to Coughlin, Eddie ended up with a broken jaw on the left side of his face and several scratches.

"It hurt him everywhere," she said. "His head and face were really in pain. I needed to get him to calm down because I was afraid his asthma would kick in. We applied ice but the right side of his face started to swell up and about 10:30 p.m. we went to the emergency room at CentraState Medical Center."

Even though Eddie was hit on the left side of the face, he hit the ground with his right side.

The doctors took a CAT scan and an Xray of the boy's jawline and told the Coughlins that a tooth was loose on Eddie's right side. The doctors did not initially believe any bones were broken, but the next day a specialist read the films and called the Coughlins to report that Eddie's jaw was broken.

Coughlin said she took Eddie to see Dr. Hamlet Garabedian, an oral surgeon in Freehold Township, who told Eddie that if he keeps the movement of his jaw down to a minimum, he will not have to have his jaw wired shut. The boy is currently on a soft diet and has to avoid all activity for six weeks.

"Eddie can't do anything for six weeks," his mother explained. "No exercise, no pool, no sports. He must hold his chin up so it doesn't move too much. Right now it's just a fracture, but if it cracks, an infection can get in and it won't heal right. Eddie's being a really good sport about it. He's still sore."

Eddie, who will be starting the eighth grade at the Eisenhower Middle School in September, said, "I'm feeling good, but I'm doing nothing. I just play video games and drink a lot of milkshakes."

His dad, Ed, and his sisters, Kayla, 19, Katie, 21, and Kelsey try to keep him occupied when they have time.

"We all think it's a weird accident," said Kelsey. "I'm glad my brother's OK. I was so worried."

His mom added with a chuckle, "Everyone keeps singing, 'Eddie Got Run Over by a Reindeer.' "