All Robert McMillen saw was a small light moving along the side of Drytown Road as he drove home from work late Sunday night.

As he slowed down to see what it was, his 1998 Ford Expedition suddenly struck something big.

"I didn't know what I hit," the 57-year-old Holtwood man said Monday. "I couldn't see anything."

His airbags deployed as he was thrown against the straps of his seat belt. The collision stopped the sport utility vehicle cold, smashing the front end and buckling the hood so badly it blocked McMillen's view out the windshield.

Shaken, he got out and discovered he had hit two Black Angus steer that had wandered into his lane of traffic. The light he had seen belonged to the farmer who was trying to herd his animals off the road.

The crash occurred about 11:30 p.m. just north of Drytown Road's intersection with Nissley Lane in Martic Township, state police said.

McMillen said he was traveling about 45 mph before he hit the brakes. He was not injured, but he said he was badly shaken up and had welts on his chest from the airbag impact.

One of the two animals was killed on impact. The second was badly injured and had to be put down.

To McMillen's surprise, the Expedition's engine still worked, and he was able to move the vehicle off the road into an adjacent field. It was later towed by Jim's Towing of Willow Street.

State police did not identify the farmer. McMillen said the man was very upset by the incident and concerned for McMillen's welfare. He drove McMillen home after state police interviewed the two men.

McMillen, a process cook for Twizzlers manufacturer Y&S Candies, called the incident "pretty scary."

"I've been driving since I was 18. … I've never had an accident," he said. He believes being in a large SUV — and wearing a seat belt — saved him from injury or worse.

A Ford Expedition weighs about 5,360 pounds unloaded, according to several automotive Web sites. Mature Black Angus bulls and steer weigh about a ton, and cows can weigh from 1,200 to 1,600 pounds, according to Clemson University's agricultural extension Web site.

E-mail: tstuhldreher@lnpnews.com