BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. — A black bear made its way into a family’s car in North Carolina, destroying the inside before crashing through the windshield to escape.
Ashely McGowin told WLOS she first noticed her hazard lights on when she let her dogs out early in the morning, but when the dogs began to bark, she went outside and saw the bear in her car.
McGowin used her phone to record video of the bear once it escaped through the windshield of the vehicle. The video shows the bear standing on the hood of the car before jumping down and beginning to walk away.
McGowin told WLOS she may have left the SUV’s door unlocked, and the bear somehow got inside. She told the station she believes the bear was trapped in the vehicle for about six hours before escaping.
“It was very distressing for me to see the mama bear in distress and suffering inside my car,” McGowin told WLOS.
There were two cubs with the bear that left with their mother.
McGowin’s insurance company said the car was a “total loss,” WTVD reported.
The family who owned the car has a 10-year-old son, who said the bear not only destroyed the inside of the car but ate his homework as well.