Bridge where Swendsen was hit
/ FOX21 News
Bear euthanized by Division of Wildlife
By Danielle Leigh
Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 9:37 p.m.
Read more: Local, State, Community, Strange, Outdoors, Bear, Santa Fe Trail, Woman, Hit by Car, Chased, Black Bear, Pregnant, Colorado Springs, Woodmen, Danielle Leigh, Colorado Springs, Animals
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- A pregnant woman was chased by a bear and then hit by a car while running away on Thursday.
Ashley Swendsen, 26, was walking on Santa Fe Trail near Woodmen Road and I-25 when a bear approached her.
She ran away and Division of Wildlife (DOW) officials found the bear in a nearby neighborhood. It was euthanized.
Swendsen wasn't seriously hurt in the accident nor was the baby she's been carrying for five months.
"I was worried, but I was so out of it from escaping the bear I wasn't thinking," said Swendsen.
It was the first time Swendsen had seen a bear, and that bear had gotten uncomfortably close.
"I heard a rustle behind me and a bear came out of the creek, and it was about two feet away from me. It started following me and I started running," Swendsen said.
An acquaintance saw Swendsen and called police. Police notified the DOW, and officers found the American black bear in a nearby neighborhood off of Dublin Blvd.
"It's become habituated and for whatever reason has decided to approach a human, and so we need to remove that bear as a human safety precaution," said wildlife manager Shaun Deeney.
"It seems unfair that since it spared me it has to die now," Swendsen said.
Swendsen plans to thank the bear for sparing her life by promoting awareness about wild bears, especially ones that venture into the city.
"I just figured that since it had to give its life for me that I should protect bears in the future," Swendsen said.
As for the lady who hit Swendsen, if police find her she will be charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run.
Swendsen said she will never walk that path alone again.
DOW officials said most bears are out of hibernation by now. Those that aren't will be in the next couple of weeks.
With this incident in mind, there are several things DOW said the public should know about American black bears:
* These bears are generally timid and do not like confrontation.
* When seeing one, do not run, back away slowly and talk to the bear.
* If it attacks, fight back. Wildlife experts say the bear will typically back down.
