Caught on Video: Mountain Biker Crashes Into Bear

Davis Souza's chest camera captured the accident

A mountain biker whose video camera captured him colliding with a bear on a trail near Lake Tahoe in California said he imagined the animal was as surprised as he was by the encounter. 

Davis Souza's chest camera captured the accident on June 12 along the Mills Peak trail.

Video the 26-year-old posted to Instagram shows Souza taking a left turn on the trail, then a small bear bursting into the path. Unable to stop in time, Souza crashes into the bear then flips over his handlebars.

"I never encountered a bear running like that," Souza told NBC. "I kind of froze and didn't know how to react."

Though Souza was quick to his feet, he could be heard on the video groaning in pain. 

"That was a bear," he tells friends.

Souza said that after the crash he explained what happened to a fire attendant at a nearby firewatch. Souza was told that there were no tagged bears in the area, meaning it was probably wild, he said. 

Souza said the bear made a groaning sound when they crashed into each other. He said he was happy to see that it had run off quickly and did not appear badly injured.

"It's the first thing my girlfriend asked me when I told her," Souza said.

"I really hope the bear is OK." 

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