16-year-old boy killed when bear suddenly appears on dark mountain road, cops say

A 16-year-old boy was killed when the pickup truck he was driving collided with a bear on a dark mountain road in northeast Tennessee, according to investigators.

Another 16-year-old was injured but survived the crash, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a news release.

It happened just after 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23, near the entrance to The Ridges at Royal Blue Campground in Campbell County, troopers say. The campground is in the Pioneer community, about a 90-mile drive northwest from Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The boy was driving a Toyota Tacoma south on two-lane Stinking Creek Road when a black bear stepped into the path of the vehicle, according to the crash report.

The front bumper of the pickup hit the bear, causing the boy to lose control and run off the road, troopers say. He was not wearing a seat belt and suffered critical injuries, the report states. His identity has not been released as of Nov. 29.

The 16-year-old passenger suffered undisclosed injuries, the report states. The passenger was wearing a seat belt.

The fate of the bear was not revealed.

Adult black bears can reach six feet in length and weigh as much as 600 pounds in Tennessee, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

This story was originally published November 29, 2024 at 9:37 AM with the headline "16-year-old boy killed when bear suddenly appears on dark mountain road, cops say."