NORTH FORSYTH – A bear cub was killed Tuesday when it was struck by a vehicle on Ga. 400 just north of Bottoms Road.

The 78-year-old driver of a Honda sedan and his wife were traveling north when the cub reportedly rolled out from the side of the road just after 1 p.m. Sept. 13.

“There was nothing I could do,” he said. “It just rolled right out.”

He said he was going the speed limit, which in that area of the heavily commuted state highway is 65 miles per hour.

“There was no way to stop – it just came out of nowhere,” he said.

The Department of Natural Resources usually handles situations involving animals such as these, but the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office took the lead because it was an auto accident, said Deputy Epifanio Rodriguez, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

DNR was not asked to respond, and sheriff’s deputies cleared the scene without delay to motorists, Rodriguez said.

Slight damage to the front left side of the car was visible, but the driver said he thought it was the underside of the vehicle that sustained the most damage.

The vehicle was deemed not drivable, and a tow truck was called for its removal.

Neither the driver nor his wife was injured, but the distressed mother bear and another cub were nearby when the accident occurred.