Police say a man was killed in a car crash in western Massachusetts on Sunday, and his body was found a short distance away after being dragged from the vehicle by a bear.
State police said they received a call around 11:30 a.m. Sunday from a passing trucker on Route 91 south in Hatfield who had just seen a partially obscured vehicle in the woods on the side of the road. Responding troopers found a heavily damaged 2016 Honda Civic in the woods amid several trees.
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A man's body was found outside the car, and a bear was observed in the woods in the vicinity of the scene. Evidence shows the bear had at some point made contact with the body.
The driver has been identified as 31-year-old Daniel Ducharme, of South Hadley, the Northwestern District Attorney's Office said on Monday afternoon.
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Preliminary investigation showed that at some point several hours prior to 11 a.m., the Honda was driving south on Route 91 when for reasons still under investigation, Ducharme lost control of the car, struck the guardrail multiple times and went off the roadway to the right. The car then traveled down an embankment, entered the woods and struck several trees.
State police said evidence and observations at the scene suggest that Ducharme likely died as a result of the crash and was either fully or partially ejected from the car and later dragged from the vehicle by the bear. The bear left the area while first responders were at the scene.
Hatfield, a town with about 3,300 residents in Hampshire County, about five miles northeast of Northampton.
The investigation into Sunday's crash is ongoing by state police assigned to the district attorney's office.
