OTTAWA -- A black bear struck by a Pontiac on a Canadian highway was propelled through the windshield of an oncoming SUV, killing two people in the vehicle, the Ottawa Citizen reported Tuesday.
The 440-pound (200 kg) bear was thrown with such force it flew right through the Nissan Pathfinder, smashing out of the back window.
Killed were a 25-year-old woman who was driving, and a 40-year-old man who was in the seat behind her, while the woman's 28-year-old boyfriend -- who was riding in the front passenger seat -- survived, as did the two men who were in the Pontiac Sunfire that originally struck the bear.
The rear seat passenger killed in the freak accident was identified as Steve Leon, but the driver's identity was not released at the request of her family.
The incident occurred about 10:00 p.m. Monday night on Highway 148 near Luskville, Quebec -- about 25 miles (40km) from Ottawa -- with investigators believing the bear was thrown into the air by the low-riding aerodynamic Sunfire.
"They had no chance," police spokesman Constable Martin Fournel said of the victims.
Officers said the crash was extremely unusual, and investigators believed it was the first time a person in the area had died in a collision involving a bear.
The bear did not survive.
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