A 110-pound bear fell from a tree and hit a man who was standing directly beneath it head-on.
It was December 9, 2024, in Lunenburg County, Virginia. Lester C. Harvey, 58, was hunting with a group that had cornered the animal against a tree. Everyone moved away from the trunk before shooting, as protocol requires, except him: he had stayed behind to retrieve his dog, just 10 feet from the base.
When another hunter fired, the bear fell directly onto Harvey. A companion with medical training administered first aid until firefighters arrived and transported him to intensive care in Richmond. His condition was reported as serious but stable, although four days later, on December 13, he died from his injuries.