Deputy ‘rescues’ driver from spider on dashboard of car

"She was hysterical," a Clackamas County Sheriff's Office spokesperson told the newspaper. "It was a huge deal for her."

Photos on the agency's Facebook page show a grinning Steinhauer, who donned gloves for the job, removing the spider from the woman's car.

"A driver pulled over in distress and asked our deputies to remove a spider from the car's dashboard. Deputy Steinhauer was happy to (carefully) oblige," the Facebook post reads.

Officials did not specify what type of spider was terrorizing the driver, but a listing of local spiders compiled by the Oregonian last year lists a possible culprit, the goldenrod crab spider.

Though the moment was a lighthearted one, Sheriff’s Office officials pointed out that the extreme fear of spiders and other insects can occasionally become a danger. A driver in Portland rolled her vehicle last fall when a spider dropped down from her rearview mirror and startled her.

Statistic Brain Research Institute reports that more than 30 percent of the American population has a fear of spiders, or arachnophobia. It is the third most common phobia, behind the fear of public speaking and the fear of death.