Two die in bizarre crash involving bear

Police say a vehicle travelling eastbound near Luskville, Que. hit the 300-pound black bear at about 10:30 Monday night, sending the animal into the opposite lane.

The bear was then struck by an on-coming car, sending the animal through the windshield and out the back window.

"Add the weight of the bear, about a 300-pound bear, plus the speed of the vehicle, it's a deadly impact," said Const. Martin Fournel, spokesperson for MRC-des-Collines-de-l'Outaouais.

The two occupants of the first car escaped injury. However, two people in the second vehicle were killed instantly -- those victims have been identified as a 25-year-old female driver from Ottawa and her friend, 40-year-old Steven Leon from Gatineau, who was riding in the back seat. The bear was also killed.

The woman's boyfriend, a 28-year-old man from the Pontiac-area, was sitting in the front passenger seat at the time of the collision. He was taken to hospital in Hull to be treated for not life-threatening upper body injuries.