photo by: Richard Gwin

A deer crosses a road north of Lawrence during the morning of Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014.

Three vehicles hit the same deer Thursday night on the Kansas Turnpike near Lawrence.

The initial collision happened about 8:35 p.m. in the eastbound lanes of the turnpike near mile marker 200, between the Lecompton and Iowa Street exits.

According to a preliminary report from the Kansas Highway Patrol:

First, a pickup driven by a 32-year-old Lawrence man hit the deer. Then, a pickup driven by a 56-year-old Jonesboro, Arkansas, man hit the same deer. Then a sedan driven by a 31-year-old Topeka woman hit the deer, and the car became disabled in the roadway.

The highway patrol report says the Topeka woman was injured but does not indicate that she was taken to a hospital. All three drivers were wearing seat belts, according to the report.

In a separate incident earlier Thursday, a vehicle hit a deer on the turnpike just east of Lawrence, in Leavenworth County, around 1:40 a.m., according to a preliminary report from the highway patrol. The 29-year-old Manhattan woman driving that vehicle was listed as having possible injury.

It’s deer season on Kansas highways, and the highway patrol reminds drivers to be extra cautious.

“Because deer-breeding season runs from October and into December, law enforcement officers routinely investigate a large number of vehicle-deer crashes this time of year,” the highway patrol said in an online public safety announcement. “Stay alert, pay more attention to the road and roadside, and intentionally look for deer. Be especially alert at dawn and dusk, the peak movement times for deer.”

The patrol suggests you slow down if you see a deer near the road, and remember that deer travel in groups — if one crosses the road, others may follow. Also, don’t take unsafe evasive actions. It’s usually safer to strike the deer than losing control of the vehicle by trying to avoid it.