A West Virginia man is accused of illegally hunting a buck and shooting across a public highway to do so.

Emmett Estep, 44, has been charged with offenses including hunting from a motor vehicle and shooting across a public highway, The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported. Estep told a state Natural Resources Police officer that he had been driving along Route 3 near Bloomingrose when he noticed a deer running alongside his vehicle, according to a department report. Estep said he then backed into a spot on the opposing side of the road and shot the buck with a .300-caliber Winchester Magnum rifle from about 35 yards away, it said.

A video posted to Facebook shows Estep shoot the deer just after a vehicle passed between the two. The deer is then seen tumbling down a steep embankment and into a ditch near the road. Estep initially told police that he had…