A painful scene as a bear is hit by a car and dies in SoCal

A Southern California driver managed to escape unharmed after crashing his car into a bear crossing the freeway in Ventura County, leaving the large animal seriously injured.

The horrific crash happened just before 10:00 p.m. Friday night on Highway 126 on the outskirts of the city of Fillmore, located about an hour outside of Los Angeles, according to the Fillmore Fire Department.

Department officials told The California Post that the driver of a black car was involved in a single-vehicle crash with a large bear that died in the crash.

Video from the scene showed firefighters and the California Highway Patrol working the crash and checking to see if the bear was alive.

The big grizzly doesn’t move at all and just lies there on the ground.

The car involved in this accident had its entire front end smashed and punctured due to the collision with this wild animal.

The driver and passengers were checked at the scene to see if there were any injuries but no medical aid was required, according to the fire department.

The bear was not so lucky and died from injuries sustained in the accident.

Officials said the highway had to be closed for a while so police could clear the accident and allow traffic to pass again.

Captain Ryan Cota of the Station 91 Fire Department said that because of the town’s location, it is not uncommon to see wildlife roaming around.

“We’re in that urban wilderness,” Cota explained. “There are bears in the back country.”

“We don’t often see them on our streets, but it’s not unusual.”

The Fillmore community Facebook page has photos and videos of the aftermath of the accident, with people upset about local wildlife losing their habitat.

“Poor guy. If we stop building houses in the area this won’t happen. We need to stop building. Let wildlife live,” wrote another person.

“We destroyed their worlds….it’s sad. We’re doing NOTHING to help them! It’s 1000% our fault, we need to protect, support and see! We’re losing EVERYTHING! It makes me sick,” another person added.

Officials said the California Department of Fish and Wildlife was called to help remove the bear from the side of the road.

The Post has reached out to CDFW for more information.

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