Man survives motorcycle crash with bear

WATERBURY, Vt., July 31 (UPI) -- Police in Waterbury, Vt., said a 52-year-old motorcyclist is lucky to be alive after he collided with a bear.

Neale Gow said he was traveling about 50 mph on his way home to the town of Hinesburg, Vt., when he noticed something in the corner of his vision, WPTZ-TV, Plattsburgh, N.Y., reported Wednesday.

"It turned out to be a pretty good-sized bear," Gow said.

The motorcyclist said he had very little time to react and he struck the animal in its side.

"You know something is about to happen that you have no control over. You wait and see, and it didn't take long for me to see," Gow told WPTZ.

Police said Gow, who was hospitalized with a punctured lung, four broken ribs and a broken collarbone, was lucky to have survived the collision. Wildlife officials said the bear also likely survived the encounter.

"Bears quite often, when they're struck by a motor vehicle, end up taking off. They're just an extremely tough animal," Col. Robert Rooks, chief warden of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, said to WPRZ.