Two killed by flying black bear in freak accident

A young Ottawa woman and her friend were killed on Monday night in a bizarre collision involving two vehicles and a bear on Highway 148 in the Pontiac. Police say a vehicle travelling eastbound near Luskville, Que. hit the 300-pound black bear at about 10:30, sending the animal into the opposite lane.



The bear was then struck by an oncoming car, sending the animal through the windshield and out the back window. "Add the weight of the bear, about a 300-pound bear, plus the speed of the vehicle, it's a deadly impact," said Const. Martin Fournel, spokesperson for MRC-des-Collines-de-l'Outaouais.

The two occupants of the first car escaped injury. However, two people in the second vehicle were killed instantly - those victims have been identified as a 25-year-old female driver from Ottawa and her friend, 40-year-old Steven Leon from Gatineau, who was riding in the back seat. The bear was also killed.


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The woman's boyfriend, a 28-year-old man from the Pontiac-area, was sitting in the front passenger seat at the time of the collision. He was taken to hospital in Hull to be treated for not life-threatening upper body injuries. The woman's name will not be released at the request of her family. Police say the crash is extremely unusual, and investigators believe it's the first time a person in the area has died in a collision involving a bear.