Caught on the dash cam of a Missouri State Highway Patrol Officer and later uploaded to the law enforcement agencies Facebook page, the video shows a bear sprinting across a median on Highway 60 in Howell County, Missouri, seconds before it runs into a trucks path, getting ran over.
MSHP had this to say along with the video:
“As bear populations increase in Missouri, so will incidents involving bears and humans. Although the bear in this video was not seriously injured, it creates the potential for a dangerous encounter with an injured bear. If you strike a bear on the highway, contact the Highway Patrol and remain inside your vehicle until the trooper arrives.”
Questions have been asked about why the driver didn’t alter his course or slow down. Some wonder if he saw the animal at all or was preoccupied.
“I can guarantee I was NOT texting and driving,” Codey Collins, the alleged driver, wrote. “I did not see him until it was too late, and with a state trooper right behind me I couldn’t have went much of anywhere [sic].”
One thing this video proves – bears can take a hit. You’d think after getting hit by several thousand pounds of vehicle traveling at 70mph, the bear would’ve shown down, taken a breather…or died. That’s not the case, as the bear brushes the hit off like he bumped into a wall and keeps on going.
