A Deer Ran from Center City to the Ben Franklin Bridge and Was Killed

A deer went from Center City to the PATCO tracks on the Ben Franklin Bridge. Plus: A rough map of the deer's run.

Early Wednesday morning, there were reports (okay, tweets) of a deer in Center City. This is the first report I can find of it, at 9:12 a.m.

Then there was confirmation.

https://twitter.com/carahackett/status/461500984292671488

Unfortunately, the tale of the Center City deer does not have a happy ending.

You’ll note that this tweet is in reply to Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Wendy Ruderman. What a reporter: She breaks news on the Center City deer without even trying! Seriously, I’m in awe.

The deer was on the eastbound tracks on the Philadelphia side of the Delaware River. It ran from the tracks to the highway portion of the bridge and was hit by a car. PATCO’s Twitter account officially deemed the delay due to police activity.

Before going on the tracks, the deer actually traveled quite a long way. It’s been pieced together on Twitter.

That seems long! I mapped a rough Philly deer run.

About three miles. Not quite Rocky’s run, but a decent final workout. I just ended it right before the bridge, as I’m not sure how the deer got onto the tracks.

The deer sighting GiljGilj tweeted about was “around 9 a.m.” By the time Gayle Christiansen and Jeremy Behrens tweeted about the deer on the PATCO tracks, it was 10:44 and 11:06.

Train service has now been restored on the PATCO High-Speed Line. Trains are running both ways every 15 minutes. Expect residual delays. RIP, Center City deer.