BOSQUE COUNTY (June 26, 2012)—A Kopperl man died Monday evening after he tried to avoid a deer on a rural highway and lost control of his pickup truck, which struck a roadside tree.

Billy Jack Calahan, 50, of Kopperl, was pronounced dead just after 7 p.m. at Goodall-Witcher Hospital, in Clifton, after he was taken there by ambulance from the scene on Farm-to-Market Road 56.

Another man who was not named was riding with Calahan and told investigating Department of Public Safety trooper Doug Childs that Calahan was driving south on the highway when he took evasive action to avoid hitting a deer, lost control of the 2005 Ford Ranger, which slid off the pavement and struck a roadside tree.

The passenger was not injured and both men were wearing seatbelts, according to the trooper’s report.