Deer struck by The Ultimate roller coaster in England

RIPON, England, Sept. 30 (UPI) —

A theme park confirmed a young deer was struck by a roller coaster, killing the animal and covering passengers in blood.

A spokeswoman for the Lightwater Valley theme park near Ripon, England, confirmed the deer wandered Saturday morning onto the track of The Ultimate, billed as Europe’s longest roller coaster, and was struck by the car.

"We can confirm a young deer did unfortunately get hit by the Ultimate train yesterday and was killed instantly," the spokeswoman said. "There is a large perimeter fence surrounding the theme park but occasionally wild animals do manage to stray onto the park during the night."

The roller coaster was closed for 30 minutes before resuming normal operations.

Reports indicate passengers were sprayed with the animal’s blood, but there were no human injuries from the crash.

A deer previously wandered onto The Ultimate’s tracks in June 1994 and was struck by a car, resulting in the hospitalization of a 12-year-old boy.