While it’s not very common for bears to be struck by cars, the summer months do bring more of the creatures down from the Angeles National Forest.<\/b>
\nA 500-pound bear died after being struck by a car while crossing a road in northern Pasadena on Wednesday night, an occurrence officials said is relatively rare. The driver, identified as a woman in her 70s, suffered minor injuries, likely from her car\u2019s airbag deploying after she hit the bear around 8:30 p.m. near Eaton Canyon and New York drives, city officials said. There was significant damage to the vehicle, city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said. \u201cIt\u2019s like hitting a tree,\u201d Derderian said of striking something that weighs a quarter of a ton. The male bear was taken to a crematorium. Jack Hagerman, a spokesperson for the Pasadena Humane Society, which dispatched an officer to the scene, said it\u2019s \u201cnot very common\u201d for bears to be struck by cars, but the summer months do bring more of the creatures down from the Angeles National Forest. \u201cWhen weather starts to warm up, they tend to start roaming around more,\u201d Hagerman said. There are frequent wildlife sightings where the collision occurred given its proximity to the San Gabriel Mountains, Derderian said. \u201cPeople in that area are very passionate about their animals, especially bears,\u201d she said. \u201cThey live up there knowing that this is part of their environment too. So it\u2019s sad.\u201d In March, there were two back-to-back bear sightings in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles \u2014 a far less common area for bears to roam. After the first sighting, the Eagle Rock bear became a brief media sensation, inspiring witty Twitter posts and at least one parody account.<\/p>\n