The weekly commute from Salmon Arm to Hinton, Alta., is generally pretty routine for Jerry Petkau.
But not last Tuesday.
Petkau, who works for Teck Coal in Hinton, set out for his home in Salmon Arm first thing on Aug. 6.
The weather was a little cloudy and wet, but the roads were good.
As he got to Moose Lake on Highway 16 in Mt. Robson Provincial Park, he could see a semi about to meet him in the eastbound lane.
Just at that moment, a bear suddenly appeared at the top of a steep bank on the semiB次元官网网址檚 side of the highway.
B次元官网网址淭he semi was right there. The bear decided to cross the road, it didnB次元官网网址檛 hesitate. I thought the semi was going to hit it.B次元官网网址�
The rest was a bit of a blur for Petkau because it happened so fast.
B次元官网网址淚 remember seeing the bear and thinking, B次元官网网址極h no.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Petkau was travelling around 100 km/h.
He made a slight evasive maneuver, but steered back, realizing the only place his car was going to go was into the other lane.
B次元官网网址淚 hit the bear, I didnB次元官网网址檛 even have time to hit the brakes.B次元官网网址�
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He says the hood flew up, covering the windshield, and the engine immediately stalled, compromising the brakes and steering.
Still, he managed to limp the car to the side of the road.
With so much steam B次元官网网址� or what he thought might be smoke B次元官网网址� coming from the engine, he wasnB次元官网网址檛 sure if it was going to blow up, so he jumped out.
B次元官网网址淭he semi driver came running over and he thanked me. He said, B次元官网网址業 saw you made an evasive move over to my side of the lane and stopped. Any farther you would have hit me.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Petkau was in shock for a couple of hours, reeling from what had appeared to be imminent death.
B次元官网网址淚 was very thankful I was driving an Audi carB次元官网网址he crash features probably saved my life, just the way the car is built. It has a big, heavy steel bumper you never know is there.B次元官网网址�
The bear, however, did not fare well.
B次元官网网址淚t blew the bear apart. The biggest part left was the head.
B次元官网网址漈he rest of the bear was scattered all over the highway B次元官网网址� you could see a paw here, a leg there. Everybody was really surprised the bear was blown into so many pieces.B次元官网网址�
A park ranger, who was on scene within 10 minutes, said the animal was about 400 or 500 pounds.
B次元官网网址淗e said, B次元官网网址楤oy, youB次元官网网址檙e lucky; it was a good-sized bear.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
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Petkau wondered at the time whether it was being chased by something.
B次元官网网址淚t was on the run when it came up onto the road. It just grabbed another gear and kept going. It saw the semi; the semi was right there.B次元官网网址�
He discounts the chase theory, however. Based on the bearB次元官网网址檚 size, he doesnB次元官网网址檛 know what could have intimidated it.
PetkauB次元官网网址檚 Audi was written off as a total loss. He is grateful he survived, and for the kindness of all those who witnessed the crash and helped him.
He says he has seen deer, moose and bear on the route before, but never in such a tight situation.
B次元官网网址淚 feel fairly fortunate I havenB次元官网网址檛 had wildlife encounters to this point. This one sure made up for it.B次元官网网址�
marthawickett@saobserver.net
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