Motorists strike and kill bear running across 118 Freeway in Porter Ranch
LAFD responded to a reported bear struck by a car on the 118 fwy near the Porter Ranch Exit. The bear was estimated to be approximately two years old when it was killed. The driver who struck it remained to assist officers.
A bear was killed early Thursday after it was struck by a truck and then a car as the animal was running across the 118 Freeway in Porter Ranch, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The driver of the car called 911 about 3:30 a.m. and reported that he had hit “some kind of animal” in the road near the Porter Ranch exit, CHP Officer Stephan Brandt said. When officers arrived, they found the bear’s carcass.
The motorist told OnScene.TV he saw the bear running across freeway lanes when it was struck by a big rig. After the bear was hit, the motorist said, it’s body bounced into his lane and he ran over it.
Bears are common in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, where a sighting usually draws crowds of curious spectators and television cameras.
But a collision involving a bear is rare, Brandt said.
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