Woman Hit By Car While Fleeing Bear

Posted by: Loren Coleman on April 23rd, 2009

It is a wonder that anyone believed her. But then, she did show the police the bear.

Police in Colorado say a pregnant woman suffered minor injuries when she was struck by a slow-moving car while fleeing from an adult black bear.

Police say they’re looking for the driver of the car that hit 26-year-old Ashley Swendsen on Thursday, April 23, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Terri Reishus says Swendsen, who is about five months pregnant, is in good condition.

In this image made from KKTV 11 television, Colorado Department of Wildlife officers approaches a black bear off Interstate 25 north of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Thursday, April 23, 2009. Police in Colorado say a pregnant woman suffered minor injuries when she was struck by a car while fleeing from this adult black bear. (AP Photo/KKTV 11)

Michael Seraphin of the state Division of Wildlife says the bear was later euthanized after Swendsen identified it.

Police say the motorist who hit Swendsen stopped and spoke to her but left before authorities arrived.

The wildlife agency says the incident occurred in an area where bears are common, according to The Gazette, reporting at 10 pm EST, April 23, 2009.

Thank You.

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.


10 Responses to “Woman Hit By Car While Fleeing Bear”

  1. kolobe responds:

    Identified it? Then euthanized it? Another inocent bear bites the dust, for no reason.

  2. The Forthcoming responds:

    Thank God that she’s ok. It could have been much worse…

  3. Bast responds:

    Wait, what? She identified this bear? How? Did it give her a business card? Or what? Why was she, oh, never mind. Like another poster said, another innocent bear, killed for no reason.

  4. Crypto-Enthused responds:

    Ok folks. Let’s try to keep things in perspective, yes another bear gets put down and it should be put down. I am an animal lover also, but when they start attacking we need to start defending. It should be noted that the bear’s actions after the fact were more responsible than the driver of the car. The bear stuck around and the driver didn’t. By the way, this poor excuse for a human should be put down also. I hope the woman and her expected child are ok.

  5. Andrew Minnesota responds:

    I saw this report earlier today the lady said the bear was nearby so she screamed and ran, when she did this it chased after her. She did none of the correct actions for dealing with a bear and if anything instigated the bear chasing her by fleeing. The sad thing is that a bear is going to be put down (who knows if it’s even the right one, she’s clearly not a bear expert) because she did all the wrong actions when she met the bear while walking through the woods.

  6. cryptidsrus responds:

    I somwhat agree with Crypto-Enthused.

    Although she did the wrong thing in fleeing, the woman should not be castigated the way she’s being castigated. She acted out of fear. When one sees a massive bear bearing down on one, not everybody is going to react by “standing their ground” and confronting it. Sometimes (a lot of the times, unfortunately) sheer cellular terror takes over and the “fight or flight” instinct takes control. Her actions most probably aggravated the whole thing, but she should not be raked over the coals for being human.

    I never thought I’d get to see the day when “political correctness” spills over into animal-human interaction “etiquette.”
    Although I ALSO don’t think the guy who hit her should be “put down.” Punished, yes, but not “euthanized.”

  7. Andrew Minnesota responds:

    If you’re in any sort of wilderness (even forested areas in a fairly residentual area) you should be familiar with how to act around the wildlife. I can understand naturally panicing, however the bear’s natural response is to chase something that runs away because she just triggered it into hunter mode. I still don’t think it should have to be put down, on the news I saw them putting it into a carrier it’s just as easy to release it somewhere far away.

  8. Greg102 responds:

    Well first of all a pregnant woman outran the bear??? Obviously the bear wasn’t really trying to get her. She would have never out ran it. So here is another case where a bear is just being a bear and gets killed. I’m glad the woman is ok, but seriously the bear didn’t need to get killed. It’s their instinct to chase if you start running. But they’re not addressing how she actually out ran the bear. what a tragedy.

  9. Mothmanfan responds:

    First I have to say the woman wasn’t seriously injured.

    But second, I would like so say, what the heck!?

    Poor bear. Obviously the woman had been doing something that upset it.

  10. sausage1 responds:

    I’m reading it but I don’t believe it. Why kill it? What next, taking out donkeys for braying? Absurd!

Sorry. Comments have been closed.

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