CHERRYHILL TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — It was a drive home unlike any other for a couple from Indiana County Sunday night.

They were headed home along Route 422 when their vehicle was suddenly struck by a black bear. The animal ran right into the car’s driver-side door.

“It was black, but it was dark and it came right out of the darkness; so we didn’t see it in time,” said Patricia Rebovich, the driver.

Rebovich and her husband were driving home from visiting a loved one at Allegheny General Hospital around 11 p.m. Sunday night.

They were about five minutes from their house when a large black animal slammed into their car on Route 422 in Cherryhill Township.

“We saw this flash in front of us; no time to scream,” she said. “It just hit us real fast.”

Rebovich knew right away it was a bear.

“So, we pulled off the road and called for help and waited, afraid to get out of the car in case he was still alive back there,” Rebovich said.

State police estimate the bear weighed nearly 300 pounds.

All four driver’s side airbags went off from the impact. The Rebovichs suffered only some minor aches.

“The car handled it very well, Ford Edge,” Rebovich said. “It was a very good, safe car.”

The Rebovichs are not yet sure if the car is totaled.

They say it’s not unusual to see animals along Route 422, but this is an experience they never expected.

“Mostly, it’s deer that would hit you or you would hit, it’s not usually a bear,” she added.

This isn’t the first time the Rebovichs have had a run in with an animal, about 10 years ago they nearly hit a deer in the very same place.

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