RATHDRUM - Kevin Fuhr only remembers a "flash of fur."

The Rathdrum Police chief was riding his bike between Hauser and Newman lakes last fall when a deer suddenly ran in front of him, causing Fuhr to T-bone and flip over the deer and roll, unconscious, about 35 feet down the road.

"Kevin didn't even see the deer; we were going 20 to 25 mph," said Coeur d'Alene Police Capt. Steve Childers, who was biking behind Fuhr during the collision. "He ragdolled and continued to roll unconscious. It was a crazy accident."

Fuhr said doctors told him that if he hadn't been wearing a helmet, he would have at least suffered a serious brain injury and may have died.

Fuhr isn't letting that message fade. Rather, he's taking it to the streets this summer when he spots youths not wearing helmets.

"My staff and I are watching for kids without helmets and, if they don't own one, we'll give them one," he said.

Fuhr has kept the dried blood in his cracked helmet and the totaled bicycle as powerful show-and-tell tools for the youths.

"Not even a month before the crash we received a grant to buy 60 bike helmets for kids," he said. "Even though my helmet is mangled, it saved me."

The cut in the back of Fuhr's head required seven staples.

"I was knocked unconscious for about 45 minutes," Fuhr said. "I woke up in the ambulance on the way to Sacred Heart."

Fuhr said he has fully recovered from the accident and does not have memory loss.

Childers said he and Fuhr were coming down a hill when he saw a deer by an apple tree move.

"As I was trying to tell Kevin, he hit the deer," Childers said. "I don't know how I didn't hit Kevin."

Childers described Fuhr as being in and out of consciousness after he finally stopped rolling.

"The lights were on, but nobody was home," Childers said. "I knew he hit his head hard and he kept repeating himself over and over."

Childers said the collision caused the deer to fall over before it scampered into the woods.

Childers said the crash occurred in a cellphone "dead zone," so he ran to a nearby home to call 911. Fuhr said he originally planned to go biking by himself that day before he and Childers connected at the last minute.

Today, Childers said he and Fuhr fortunately can joke a little about the crash.

"Kevin was mad that they had to cut his biking shorts off (to treat the injuries) because they're not cheap," Childers said.

Fuhr said the crash has not deterred him from riding.

"I've already put in almost 1,000 miles this year," Fuhr said. "I cycle as much as I can because it's relaxing and therapeutic."

Childers said he recently rode along the stretch where the accident occurred and, lo and behold, there were two deer munching on apples around the same tree.

"We're always watching for our friends when we're riding through the area," Childers said.