Nobody believed man got run over by a deer on April Fools'; video proves it

Tired and ready for bed, Cary McCook waved goodbye to his friend who dropped him off in front of his hotel when he saw a large shadow coming his way.

By the time the 25-year-old from Fort Ware, Canada, turned his head, he was already halfway to the pavement -- taken out by a large deer that was sprinting away from a barking dog in the parking lot of the Stork Nest Inn in Smithers, where McCook was staying while completing a training course for work.

“I hear three gallops, I looked up and just then I see a deer fully committed in a leap of faith -- and bam!” McCook told CBS News about the April 1 incident. “I was shocked, jumped back up and went to the truck. I was like, ‘Was that a deer?’”

Shocked and pumped full of adrenaline after the tackle, McCook called his family to tell them about his strange encounter. In great detail, he described being “jumped by a deer” in the parking lot. But his family didn’t believe him.

After all, it was April Fools’ Day.

So McCook turned to Facebook, sharing a picture of his sweatshirt, which was covered in hair.

“[I] just got hit by a deer and ran over in front of my hotel!! Still see the deer fur on my arm,” he wrote.

“April Fools,” a friend joked.

Determined to prove himself, McCook decided to reach out to the hotel manager in hopes of finding a surveillance video. Sure enough, around 9:00 p.m. on April 1, he was caught on camera getting knocked down by a deer.

“Oh, you got hit by a deer!” a woman at the front desk yelled while reviewing the footage.

McCook recorded a clip of the video on his phone, proving once and for all he wasn’t lying. He shared it on his Facebook page and it went viral, garnering nearly 35,000 views since it was posted April 2.

“It’s so funny. I’m just grateful because there’s a lot of negativity in the world,” he said. “I’m just glad i could shed light get everyone a good laugh at.”

McCook said when he’s not working as an environmental management representative, he’s performing in a rap group named “Reka-Nation.”

“My deer track should be out by the end of this week,” McCook said.