Pregnant Woman Hit By Car While Running From Bear

[Newsbot]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Ashley Swendsen, 26, said she thought the bear followed her more out of curiosity than malice because it kept a distance of about 10 feet Thursday morning on a hiking trail between the Vincent Drive Bridge and Interstate 25.

As she ran, she thought, "If it was going to hurt me, it already would have."

Swendsen managed to scramble up an embankment and was crossing the street when she was hit by a slow-moving car. Although she was not seriously injured, she was taken to a hospital as a precaution because she was pregnant.

Police said they're looking for the driver of the car that hit Swendsen. The driver stopped and said a few words to her and then drove away without offering any help.

Swendsen said she first spotted the bear as it was coming out of a creek.

"I didn't know what to do, so I just kept walking," she said. "I wasn't going to start sprinting."

But she started running when the bear moved toward her.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife said the chase happened in an area where bears are common. Division spokesman Michael Seraphin said the brown-colored North American black bear was tranquilized and later euthanized after Swendsen identified it.

Swendsen said she was sad to hear about the bear's death.

"Yeah, because the bear spared me, and then it had to die," she said.

Swendsen, who is about five months pregnant, said she doesn't know the sex of her baby but will give it the middle name "Bear" whether it's a boy or a girl.

Wildlife agents believe the driver of the car that sturck Swendsen was driven by an otter named Wendell.

[vynsane]

bears and otters working in conjunction??? surely this spells armageddon. and nary a bruce willis or ben affleck in sight...

[anarky]

CNN was reporting this morning that the bear was trying to return the woman's wallet, which she had dropped a mile back.