PERRY TOWNSHIP — The call came in near the beginning of the shift for Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Aric Durbin.
The Mansfield Post Dispatcher told the 32-year old Trooper it was his “lucky day.”
“Usually, when they say that, it’s not your lucky day,” the 2011 East Knox High School graduate said.
Durbin was the law enforcement officer called on June 14 at 7:01 a.m. to the Perry Township scene in southern Richland County, where a black bear was struck by a pickup truck just south of Lexington.
“This was definitely something I’ll remember forever,” Durbin said.
The incident made statewide headlines because of its unique nature.
Upon arrival on Ohio 546 near Black Road, Durbin found a startled teen driver who stopped immediately after the vehicle struck a 246-pound male black bear.
Ohio Division of Wildlife biologist Katie Dennison said the adult creature was probably roaming through the region looking for a partner during mating season.
Unfortunately, it was far off course. This became the first confirmed sighting of a black bear in Richland County since 1999.
There are only between 50 and 100 bears native to the state, most of them in northeast or southeast Ohio. A black bear was also seen in Licking, Delaware and Morrow counties, but officials have no way of knowing if this was the same bear.
“It was exciting because it was so unusual, but (the driver really) felt bad about it,” Durbin said. “There was nothing he could’ve done.
“He did the best he could to avoid it, the bear just ran right out in front of him.”
According to the OSHP report, the pickup truck was hauling a livestock trailer and heading northwest near milepost 3 when the black bear entered the road and was struck.
The teen was not cited in the crash, and was wearing a seat belt, traveling approximately 36 miles per hour in a 55-mph speed zone. The vehicle absorbed some damage, but the bear took by far the worst of the collision.
“When I got there, the bear was suffering,” Durbin said. “It could only move a little bit. It was trying to get up, but it couldn’t.
“Originally, we wanted to turn it over to (the Ohio Department of Natural Resources) and hope they could rehabilitate it. But it wasn’t going to survive.
“Normally, they would dispatch it. But they couldn’t get there right away, and we got permission to dispatch it with a rifle.”
Durbin said he has seen black bears in the wild from a distance on trips to Tennessee, but this was the closest he’s ever been to one in person. After the bear was euthanized, Durbin took a closer look at the creature and saw it suffered extensive injuries in the crash.
“It’s such a shame. The back half of it was where it was really injured and when we got a good look at it, we could see how much damage was done,” Durbin said.
Durbin has only been a trooper at the Mansfield Post for 2.5 years. The Delaware resident was the overall performance award winner among 29 graduates in the Ohio State Trooper Class of 2023.
He took a couple of photos to show his family, and preserve the incident for the sake of posterity for his young son.
“I didn’t want it to become a sideshow, but it was something you will remember, too,” Durbin said.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources encourages anyone who sees a bear to report the sighting to the Division of Wildlife. Bear or other wildlife sightings can be reported to ODNR using this link.
More information on black bears in Ohio can also be found at Wildohio.gov or by calling 1-800-WILDLIFE.
(These photos are courtesy of Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Aric Durbin.)
