Woman Hits, Kills Bear With Car In Bergen: Police

FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ — A woman hit and killed a bear with her car on Friday night in Franklin Lakes, police said, in what has been a busy spring for bear sightings in New Jersey.

The collision happened at 10:53 p.m., on NJ 208 North between Ewing and Summit Avenues, police said.

The woman, a Howell resident, was not injured, police said. Her Subaru was disabled and had to be towed from the scene, Franklin Lakes police told Patch. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection took the bear's body.

In the first five months of the year, black bear encounters around the Garden State more than doubled last year's total within that span, according to environmental officials.

The state tallied 473 sightings and complaints of bears from Jan. 1 through May 21, according to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife. The figure includes 374 reports of damage and nuisance, along with 99 sightings. During that period last year, New Jersey counted only 221 encounters, with 168 reports of damage and nuisance and 53 sightings.

Proportionally, bear incidents increased the most in Bergen County — quadrupling from seven reports through May 21 of last year to 28 this year.

Patch reporter Josh Bakan contributed to this report.