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As it turns out, the man who was bitten by the injured black bear on Highway 299 last week was not the same driver who injured the animal in the first place.
California Highway Patrol Sgt. Caleb Carey contacted the Outpost this afternoon to correct some “partially incorrect” information that was provided to us last week by a spokesperson with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Carsey said he had “reached out to CDFW to ensure they were disseminating the most accurate information possible,” but there was an apparent miscommunication.
“The party that was injured by the bear was not the driver who struck the bear. He was simply a passerby who stopped and attempted to assist the injured animal,” Carsey wrote via email. “I bring this up only because he is clearly very passionate about bears, and I fear he’ll be offended by statements that he hurt one.”
At this point, Carsey said investigators can only speculate that the bear was injured in the vehicle collision, adding that there “appears to be no other plausible mechanism of injury.”
“[N]o physical evidence was located on scene to suggest a vehicle was involved, no leads were discovered to investigate, and no one has come forward to admit their involvement,” he said. “As such, we have closed our investigation into the incident.”
Asked about the current condition of the 59-year-old man who was bitten by the bear, Carsey said he hadn’t spoken to him since the day after the incident, at which point he was still “hospitalized due to his injuries.” He added that the man was only bitten once, not “multiple times,” as previously reported.
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