A hunter in Virginia died after a bear in a tree was shot, fell on him: authorities

A Virginia man was killed when a bear shot out of a tree by one of his hunting partners fell on him, according to state wildlife officials.

The incident happened on Dec. 9 in Lunenburg County, Virginia, according to a statement from Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources.

A hunting group had been tracking the bear when it ran up a tree.

When the group began retreating from the tree, one of the hunters shot the bear, which fell onto another hunter who was standing about 10 feet from the bottom of the tree.

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One person in the group rendered first aid before Harvey was rushed to two different hospitals.

But the victim, identified as Lester C. Harvey, 58, of Phenix, Virginia, succumbed to his injuries on Friday, the wildlife department stated.

An obituary for Harvey said he leaves behind a wife, five children and eight grandchildren. He was a self-employed contractor and an avid outdoorsman.

Other similar incidents have happened in recent years in the U.S.

In 2018, a man in Alaska was critically injured when his hunting partner shot a bear on a ridge, causing the animal to fall down a slope onto the man, who was also struck by rocks dislodged by the bear.

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The following year, another man in North Carolina was injured after his hunting partner shot a bear in a tree. The animal fell out of the tree and began biting the victim. The man and the bear then tumbled off a cliff.

The victim in North Carolina was transported to a hospital for his injuries, and the bear was later found dead.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.