Deer herded back to mountains after running into freeway traffic

All lanes on the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway in Burbank were stopped temporarily Wednesday morning because two deer ran into traffic, officials said.

Authorities reported at 11:32 a.m. that two deer were “very close” to the slow lane of the northbound 5 Freeway near Burbank Boulevard, according to the California Highway Patrol’s online log.

The deer ran into traffic just north of Burbank Boulevard shortly thereafter.

Burbank police stopped freeway traffic and worked with animal-control officers to escort the deer back to the mountains, said Brenda Castaneda, superintendent of the Burbank Animal Shelter.

While CHP officials initially reported that one deer had been tranquilized, Castaneda said that was not the case.

“They were just kind of herded back to the mountains,” Castaneda said. “Nobody was hurt. It’s a miracle almost.”

All lanes were reopened at 11:57 a.m., said CHP Sgt. Brian Brown.

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Follow Alene Tchekmedyian on Google+ and on Twitter: @atchek.

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