Posted by JD on May 28, 2009, 8:00 am
Motorist strikes, kills rarely seen black bear
By Jay Tokasz NEWS STAFF REPORTER
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Buzz up!
It’s rare enough to catch a glimpse of a black bear in these parts.
More bizarre is crashing into one — but that’s exactly what happened to an unlucky motorist Friday night on the Aurora Expressway in the Town of Aurora.
The driver of a Pontiac Grand Prix, headed north on the expressway at about 9 p. m., collided with the bear just south of the Route 20A overpass, Officer Darren Longboat said.
The driver, whom police did not identify, was unharmed.
The bear was killed.
“It was like a straightforward car-deer accident, but it happened to be a bear,” Longboat said.
East Aurora police last had a report of a bear sighting about three years ago, not far from where the accident occurred, said Longboat.
The bear that was hit appeared to be older than a cub, but not quite a full-grown bruin, he added.
While an oddity in Erie County, car-bear accidents happen with some regularity in Cattaraugus County.
“We get a couple of those a year,” said a dispatcher with the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office.
The collisions usually occur in the towns of Carrollton or Allegany, near the Pennsylvania border, the dispatcher said.
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