Herd of deer seen in video jumping to its death off newly constructed Iowa bridge

A herd of deer—apparently unfamiliar with a newly constructed bridge—jumped to its death off a bridge in Iowa and was filmed by a motorist.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Catherine Veerhusen, who was driving by, told the paper. “No words, no words.”

She spotted the herd that included one buck and three does running across the Cedar Rapids bridge, the New York Post reported. The deer jumped off the side of the bridge and fell about 30 feet.

Veerhusen posted photos and video of the incident on her Facebook page. Her video went viral, with over 27 million views and 28,000 shares as of Tuesday.

Ron Lane, a conservation officer for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources told the Des Moines Register that he thinks the herd was panicked and not familiar with the area.

“The bridge there is brand new,” he said. “…the deer aren’t used to that, with all of the construction going on.”

Veerhusen told the Register that she wished she'd contacted the local sheriff’s department.

“I stood there — I was just in shock,” she said. “I’ve never seen them spooked like that.”