The driver who killed Grizzly 399 did nothing wrong…

When Grizzly 399 – the most famous bear in the world — was struck and killed by a car in the Snake River Canyon in western Wyoming on Tuesday night, with some people erupting in outrage and calling on authorities to throw the book at the driver.

There’s only one problem with this: the local sheriff’s office says the driver didn’t break any laws.

Law enforcement officials say it’s not an accurate conclusion to assume the driver did something wrong because he appears to have been speeding after hitting the bear.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Lt. John Stetzenbach told the Cowboy State Daily that evidence collected at the crash scene indicates the driver was traveling on Highway 89 at or very close to 55 mph at the time of impact. The driver wasn’t distracted either.

“It really was an accident,” he said.

How it works

Stetzenbach said law enforcement makes this decision at the scene of wildlife accidents based on several factors.

They first look for signs of skid or yaw to see if the driver tried to slow down before hitting the animal. Wide signs usually mean someone has been speeding.

Stetzenbach said no one was at the scene.

They also check how much damage the animal caused to the vehicle, the size of the vehicle and the weight of the animal. He gave the example of an antelope, which weighs much less than a grizzly bear, pushing a truck engine into the cabin.

“There is a good chance the truck was traveling faster than 55 miles per hour,” he said of that scenario.

While there is no additional penalty for hitting wildlife with a vehicle, Stetzenbach said he would easily ticket someone who was possibly speeding, especially if it resulted in the death of wildlife.

“We will definitely issue a ticket if someone is driving too fast or too fast for the conditions,” he said.

Investigation 399

Stetzenbach said the Subaru’s front-end damage level, which totaled 399, clearly showed the driver was traveling at the speed limit.

He said the vehicle was towed the night of the accident and suffered more than $1,000 in damage, triggering a state accident report requirement.

There are no street lights at milepost 126, where the bear was struck, and Stetzenbach said conditions were very dark around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, when the bear was struck.

“It’s quite dark, it’s not lit,” he said.

He also said that by the time the driver got out of the car to check 399, she was dead.

Stetzenbach said that even when his deputies receive calls about bears or wildlife on the road, they can’t always immediately respond to those calls if they are busy with other matters.

Lessons learned

While he reiterated that the driver did nothing wrong when he hit 399, the deputy said the bear’s death should serve as an example of why people driving at night in Wyoming should be aware of wildlife.

Stetzenbach himself said he usually drives about 35 km/h below the speed limit in a specific area well stocked with antelope at night to avoid them and other creatures.

“Fifty-five is a pretty safe speed, but it’s always safer during the day than at night,” he said.

Although the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office says the driver was a Wyoming resident driving a Subaru, no other information has been released at this time other than he was traveling westbound toward Star Valley the night of the crash.

“If his ID was known, it wouldn’t be very good for the driver,” Stetzenbach said.

Stetzenbach said it’s common for vehicles to hit wildlife in Lincoln County; however, bear accidents are much rarer, and Incident 399 is only the second he remembers in his 27 years with the sheriff’s office.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has the body of Grizzly 399 and reports that he has not yet determined his disposition in this matter.

Leo Wolfson you can arrive at [email protected].