Driver Struck Bear on Rt. 309, Police Say

A motorist was uninjured when the vehicle he was driving struck a bear in Bucks County last week, according to state police.

In a news release from the Dublin barracks, troopers said the 32-year-old Telford man was southbound on Rt. 309 in West Rockhill Township “when a bear ran into the roadway” and he struck it.

Police said the accident happened in the right lane at mile marker 28.6 around 8:45 p.m. Saturday.

The news release did not say whether the bear survived the collison with the vehicle, which police said was a 2019 Chevy Equinox.

Bear strikes involving vehicles are relatively rare in Bucks County, though they are not unheard of.

Published news reports indicate that at least two such incidents have occured over the last five years.

In June 2021, authorities said a small bear was reportedly struck by a motorist following sightings in and around Perkasie borough. And in May 2024, a young black bear was killed when it was struck by a car while attempting to cross Rt. 611 in Doylestown Township.

Wildlife officials say the incidents are typically clustered in the spring season, when young bears leave their mothers and seek new territory.