Vehicle hits and kills 200-pound bear in Twin Cities suburb

A 200-pound bear was run over and killed during the night in the Twin Cities suburb of Corcoran, authorities said Monday.

A passerby alerted police after sunrise Sunday of the mortally wounded bear near the road at the intersection of Maple Hill Road and County Road 10, located in a rural area of the northwest metro community of 5,700 or so residents.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was contacted and responded to the scene. The DNR officer who answered the call estimated the bear to be two- to three-years-old.

Police have yet to locate the driver who hit the bear, said Chief Matt Gottschalk.

"Bear sightings are uncommon in Corcoran," police said in a statement accompanied by a photo of the dead animal with police officer Josh Hunter. The animal had a distinctive white "V" on its chest.

"If you see a bear on your property, do not approach it," the statement continued. "Bears will typically avoid people but sometimes come into contact with humans when trying to get into garbage cans or bird feeders."

Gottschalk said his department hopes to have the bear mounted and displayed for use in educating young hunters on identifying species. The meat, the chief added, was not salvageable for human consumption.