Black Bear Accident - A black bear crossing the street in the US Everglades wetlands in the state of Florida caused a road accident before 7 p.m. Sunday. As a result of the black bear accident, three people were killed while eight others were left injured over the weekend.
The black bear accident occurred on the approximately 50,000-acre Big Cypress Seminole Reservation, which is one of several tribal reservations scattered around Florida. Taking place on what is also known as Alligator Alley in southern Florida, the black bear accident happened after a motorist in a Cadillac Escalade hit the animal and stopped along a two-lane road in the Florida Everglades.
The woman in the SUV struck the 135 kilogram black bear, then eight men who were about to return home from a weekend duck-hunting trip, spotted her next to her vehicle and a dead black bear. According to authorities, they stopped to help the woman.
Unfortunately, moments after the residents from Miami-Dade climbed out of their pickup trucks, a car hit going down the highway hit them, according to Seminole police.
Gary Bitner, Seminole Police's spokesman told The Associated Press that the black bear accident killed three of the men Sunday evening after they stopped to help the woman. A third vehicle plowed into them, instantly killing three and injuring four others.
"Three people from a second vehicle got out and tried to help and all were struck and killed by a third vehicle," Bitner said of the black bear accident which led to the deaths.
Eight people were injured in the black bear accident. They were transported via helicopter and road to nearby hospitals, reports the AFP.
"We've never had an accident involving a black bear," Bitner said. "There are black bears throughout Florida and this is in the Everglades, so there absolutely are black bears in that area."
Meanwhile, the Broward Sheriff's Office sent crews to help with the black bear accident. According to an official, four critically injured patients were airlifted to a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, while another four people with non-life-threatening injuries were taken by ambulance. Unfortunately, some of the victims from the black bear accident were children.
Six people taken to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, and four of them have remained hospitalized Monday in conditions which ranged from critical to fair, according to spokeswoman Carthy Thomas.
Those admitted to Broward Health included Jose Vega and Mario Cecilio, both of Miami, as well as a juvenile passenger. They were inside the car driven by McInturff when the black bear accident occurred, said police.
At Broward Health, two people involved in the black bear accident were treated and released. According to officials, they were identified to be 50-year-old Luis Alberto Collaso and Luis Rodriguez. Two others injured on the roadway were also treated at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood and released, police said.
Those killed after the black bear accident which resulted in the crash Sunday evening were identified as Yoel Menendez, 44, Ricoberto Llanes, 43, and Alain Navarro, 46. All were killed instantly, as well as the432-pound bear.
"They were good Samaritans," said spokesman Gary Bitner. "They were people obviously intent on being helpful, doing the right thing, and then they lose their lives. It's just sad."
Accident reconstruction experts went to the scene late Sunday. However, details remained uncertain as to the exact sequence of the how the black bear accident resulted in the car crash that killed three.
Bitner added that at least two of the vehicles were driving in opposite directions.
"They are still trying to figure everything out," he said.
Officials say that a black bear accident is rare in the area such as the tropical Everglades that is full of exotic wildlife.
Bear encounters in Florida are reported sporadically, according to the Associated Press.
Apart from the black bear accident Sunday, there have been only two prior cases in which people in a bear collision were killed in the past 10 years. The Sun Sentinel reports that both accidents involved motorcycles which were heading through the Ocala National Forest.
In the past half-century, hunting was banned and bear habitat protected. Now the population of bears in Florida's national forests or other land have risen sharply. Apparently, from a low of 500 or so in the 1950s, the state's bear population has already grown to more than 3,000, according to the wildlife commission.
The black bear accident had no charges filed. The crash remains under investigation
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