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In Quebec, Canada, near Ottowa, Tuesday, two people were killed after a car hit a bear. The bear was propelled through the air and went completely through an oncoming SUV, killing the driver and one passenger. The bear also died.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/06/08 ... =obnetwork" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The term "freak accident" often is used to describe events that were avoidable or not really accidents. I think this qualifies as a freak accident.

- Jim

I'm surprised it didn't kill the driver of the car that struck it.

First thing I thought was, 'Who was the idiot that gave a bear a pilots license in the first place'.

Yeah, large game animals can be deadly. We had several people die from hitting large deer back in my home state of Missouri.

When I was about 16 a buddy of mine and I were heading up a county highway toward the COE lake north of town. We had a large buck jump out in front o the buddies car and stop smack dab in the middle of the road. My buddy locked up the tires, but it was too late. The deer came over the hood, broke the windshield, but luckily slid on over the roof and down the back of his 69 Malibu fastback. We got stopped, backed up to the deer and as we sere getting out of the car, it got up and ran off. I am sure it was injured enough it didn't make it, but it took off pretty fast.

Amazingly, other than a broken windshield, he had no other damage to the car besides some hair where it slid up and over the car and the hair got caught in the trim pieces. Needless to say it shook us up pretty well.

Had a trucker buddy of mine tell me about when he was a rookie driver in Alaska. His co-driver was in the bunk when their rig hit a moose head on. The co-driver suffered a couple of broken bones from flying out of the bunk, my buddy had a couple of cracked ribs from the seat belt, and the moose had a broken antler.

They need to register and keep track of all these dangerous Bears! Oh,.....The Moose too!

AEA wrote:They need to register and keep track of all these dangerous Bears! Oh,.....The Moose too!

Gives new insight in the phrase "loaded for bear".

The Annoyed Man wrote:I'm surprised it didn't kill the driver of the car that struck it.

The article didn't say, but the vehicle that struck the bear first probably was totaled, and probably the air bags deployed.

The people in the second vehicle were killed because the bear went through the windshield (probably over the hood). It would be almost like having an artillery shell come through.

Deer are involved in the death of more people in the U.S. than any other wild animal—mostly by vehicles hitting them or swerving to avoid them and being involved in a wreck. There are about 200 human deaths, 200,000 human injuries, and $1 billion in property damage per year in the U.S. Deaths involving deer far outnumber deaths caused by bears, predators, or venomous animals.

- Jim

Back in the day when CB radios were popular, my dad was an avid CB'er. We went most summers to Wisconsin, and some to Canada to visit family and photograph along the way. We often ate at truck stops, as the food was good and cheap, and the restrooms were usually nice, and they were open at odd hours. Not to mention, talking with the truckers was really fun. Once in the Sault Ste. Marie area, we got into a conversation with a couple truckers about hitting deer in a big rig. They said they would much rather hit a cow than a deer! Cows just go boom, while deer often jump at the last minute, come through the windshield, and do a lot of damage kicking the tar out of anyone and everything in the cab.

seamusTX wrote:In Quebec, Canada, near Ottowa, Tuesday, two people were killed after a car hit a bear. The bear was propelled through the air and went completely through an oncoming SUV, killing the driver and one passenger. The bear also died.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/06/08 ... =obnetwork" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The term "freak accident" often is used to describe events that were avoidable or not really accidents. I think this qualifies as a freak accident.

- Jim

It sounds to me like it was an avoidable accident. How fast do you need to be going to propel a bear (couple hundred pounds +/-) over your hood and how close was the following SUV to the first vehicle so that gravity didn't come into play?

I call BOGUS on this one. Alas, there are more people than bears.

Oldgringo wrote:It sounds to me like it was an avoidable accident. How fast do you need to be going to propel a bear (couple hundred pounds +/-) over your hood and how close was the following SUV to the first vehicle so that gravity didn't come into play?

I call BOGUS on this one. Alas, there are more people than bears.

I take it you missed the phrase "oncoming SUV"? That would indicate it was going the opposite direction of the car that initially hit the bear.

Pawpaw wrote:

Oldgringo wrote:It sounds to me like it was an avoidable accident. How fast do you need to be going to propel a bear (couple hundred pounds +/-) over your hood and how close was the following SUV to the first vehicle so that gravity didn't come into play?

I call BOGUS on this one. Alas, there are more people than bears.

I take it you missed the phrase "oncoming SUV"? That would indicate it was going the opposite direction of the car that initially hit the bear.

Thank you, I did miss that.

Did the bear drop out of the sky in front of the speeding vehicle? Where was the drivers' "situational awareness"?

FWIW, I hate to see bears and most other innocent four-legged animals being mistreated. I just can't abide it.

Divided Attention wrote:Back in the day when CB radios were popular, my dad was an avid CB'er. We went most summers to Wisconsin, and some to Canada to visit family and photograph along the way. We often ate at truck stops, as the food was good and cheap, and the restrooms were usually nice, and they were open at odd hours. Not to mention, talking with the truckers was really fun. Once in the Sault Ste. Marie area, we got into a conversation with a couple truckers about hitting deer in a big rig. They said they would much rather hit a cow than a deer! Cows just go boom, while deer often jump at the last minute, come through the windshield, and do a lot of damage kicking the tar out of anyone and everything in the cab.

This is true, and moose are worse.

A cousin of mine in Alaska hit a young moose while driving on the Alaska highway. It came through the windshield and was beating him up pretty thoroughly.

You might logically ask why he didn't simply get out of the car.

The answer is that Mama Moose was outside, uninjured, and mightily perturbed that her progeny had been injured. My cousin wisely decided to deal with the situation inside the car until a better prepared motorist arrived, drove off the adult, and dispatched the injured animal.

My cousin wasn't the brightest bulb on the string in that he carried no preparations whatsoever for a situation which was not rare in that state. However, a light did dawn on him that day and the following day he became the proud owner of a .357 which accompanied him on every trip thereafter.

Oldgringo wrote:It sounds to me like it was an avoidable accident. How fast do you need to be going to propel a bear (couple hundred pounds +/-) over your hood ...

Every accident is avoidable in some sense—if you don't drive a car or travel at all.

I don't know any of the details of this case. It was probably a rural road, probably with a speed limit of 60 MPH or so (they use those evil French kilometers in Canada). It was 10 p.m., and the bear probably was close to invisible.

The issue of the late bear's trajectory already has been discussed.

Vehicle collisions are weird. Pedestrian victims sometimes are flung hundreds of feet. I also have read or heard many times that their shoes come off and remain at the point of collision.

- Jim

Great, and I thought flying pigs were tough to deal with. Now we have to watch for flying bears??!!

(My first thought was that it dealt with "smokeys" checking speed limits via airplane. )

sjfcontrol wrote:Great, and I thought flying pigs were tough to deal with. Now we have to watch for flying bears??!!

(My first thought was that it dealt with "smokeys" checking speed limits via airplane. )

In my sport, we have both.