Black bear sneaks inside car

By Erin Edwards and Evan Sobol

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    CORNWALL, Connecticut (WFSB) — One man in Cornwall had a different kind of visitor sneak into his car over the weekend.

The man tells Eyewitness News he was inside his house when he noticed his mother-in-law’s headlights were on.

When he went outside to check it out he was shocked by what he saw.

“I was like somethings not right here,” said Cody Gillotti, of Cornwall.

Gillotti said he noticed something was off when his mother-in-law’s car lights were on and his truck door was wide open.

“And my daughter’s car seat was on the ground next to it. And I thought that’s real weird,” he said.

He went to investigate.

“I went down and saw fog all over the window and sure enough there was a bear in there,” Gillotti said.

He saw then saw a black bear hanging out in the front seat of his mother-in-law’s Subaru.

“Wow I see bears all the time but never in the car,” said Gillotti.

He called the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

“He loaded up his 12 gauge with bean bag shells. I tied a rope to the car handle and ran the rope up the hill and started yanking on the rope,” Gillotti said.

Seeing the door move seemed to scare the bear.

“It freaked the bear out big time and the bear just kind of exploded with energy and the door went swinging open,” said Gillotti.

The bear ran away, but he left behind quite a bit of damage.

“I’m sure the Subaru’s going to be toast. You can’t turn power off the vehicle without disconnecting the battery. You take the key out lights still turn on. The interior’s completely destroyed,” Gillotti said.

The backseat of Cody’s truck was also damaged, but not as bad.

Now he’s thinking about giving his truck a new nickname.

“The bear trap or something,” he said.

DEEP says spring is a busy time for black bears as they come out of their winter rest.

The department is sharing these tips to stay safe:

Never feed bears Take down bird feeders by late march and wait until late fall to put them back up Store garbage in secure containers Keep grills clean and store them inside a garage or shed DEEP also says if you see a bear you should report the sighting.

For more bear safety tips, click here.

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