Emergency workers check the woods where a woman was mauled by a bear (Sept. 17, 2009)
Quebec woman dies after bear attack, car crash
A woman has died after being mauled by a bear, and then being involved in a car crash while her husband frantically rushed her to hospital in Quebec.
Forestry engineer Dragos Gavriloaia was accompanied on a trip to the woods by his wife Alexandrina, 46. They were in the forest near La Tuque, Que. Wednesday, when Dragos turned around to find the bear attacking his wife, police said.
He was able to chase the bear away and carry his seriously injured wife to his pickup truck. The nearest hospital was 90 minutes away.
Halfway to the hospital, Dragos lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a ditch.
Bystanders who passed the couple took them to hospital, but Alexandrina was pronounced dead when she arrived.
Dragos is a forest engineer and Alexandrina wanted to keep him company while he worked.
The couple lived in an apartment in Saint-Laurent, near Montreal, with their two adult children.
Residents who knew Alexandrina, a Romanian immigrant, reacted with disbelief to news of her death on Thursday.
"It's shocking," said the couple's neighbour Alex Bejnaru. "I knew this lady for six years and what happened, it's pretty tragic."
Police said they will conduct an autopsy to determine whether it was the bear attack or the car accident caused her death.
Meanwhile, Quebec wildlife officials are reportedly on their way to La Tuque to try and capture the bear.
There have been an abnormally high number of bear sightings north of Montreal this summer. Wildlife officials have said that cool, rainy weather in recent months has produced a smaller berry crop this year. That's left the animals to search for other sources of food.
