Posted inGrand Teton

Speed not a factor in Grand Teton vehicle wreck that killed grizzly bear

Authorities have released new details from their investigation into an incident yesterday that left a driver in Grand Teton National Park injured and a young male grizzly bear dead, finding that excessive speed was not a factor.

Officers with the Wyoming Highway Patrol and the National Park Service have finished a preliminary investigation that has determined that a vehicle traveling south on Highway 26/89/191 in Grand Teton National Park swerved slightly to avoid a bear that was trying to cross the highway.

That unexpected maneuver caused the northbound vehicle to also swerve, over-correct, and veer off into the sagebrush on the west side of the highway. A 29-year-old Pennsylvania man, whose name has not been disclosed, was driving the northbound car, and sustained minor injuries in the wreck.