LOWER LAKE – A Monday night traffic collision killed a bear near Lower Lake.

A Chevy van hit the bear on Highway 29 near Hofacker Lane outside of Lower Lake shortly before 8:30 p.m., according the California Highway Patrol.

CHP Officer Steve Tanguay said the van was traveling southbound on Highway 29 when the bear ran out into the roadway, and the driver couldn't stop the vehicle, which struck and killed the animal.

Tanguay said the van driver wasn't injured and declined a report.

The CHP said that the incident was reported to California Department of Fish and Game, but Warden Loren Freeman said they don't usually respond to dead bears, which are picked up by Caltrans or, if it's on a local roadway, the county roads department.

While it's not a violation to accidentally hit wildlife with a vehicle, “They can't take the animal with them,” he said.

Fish and Game usually responds when mountain lions and elk are hit, because people are likely to try to take some part of those animals, Freeman said.

Freeman said an elk was last hit in the county about a month ago near Clearlake Oaks.

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