‘I was so scared:’ driver describes crashing into roaming bear on GA 400

A woman says she is still badly shaken after her SUV accidentally hit a large black bear that darted into her path on northbound Georgia 400 in Sandy Springs early Tuesday morning.

“It was a major collision. My seatbelt got tight, the car went to the shoulders. It happened so fast. I couldn’t avoid it.” said Helena Rocha.

Rocha showed Channel 2′s Tom Regan her wrecked SUV on Wednesday.

Much of the front end is damaged and bear fur still hangs from a broken bumper. She said she was driving home from her overnight work shift at UPS when the bear rushed into the roadway.

“Again, it went so fast, why is the bear doing this? I never expected a bear on the road, on the highways,” said Rocha.

Body camera video from a Sandy Springs Police shows him arriving at the scene. The dead bear can be seen behind the driver’s vehicle.

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“Officers got to the scene, got the bear of to the side of the roadway and contact the DNR. ” said Sandy Springs Police Sgt. Leon Millholland.

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