A recent resident of Canal Flats, Darren Wright was almost home after a round trip to his previous house in Stettler, Alta., to pick up a last load of belongings, when, at about 3 a.m., his car surprised a black bear in the ditch alongside Riverside Golf Course.

“I wanted to miss all the daily traffic so I decided to travel in the morning,” Wright said.

He explained he didn’t see the bear until it was too late. He then lost control of the car, which rolled off the right side of the road and hit a road sign before smashing into a concrete fence on the south side of the golf course and landing upright.

“After I pulled myself out of the car I called my girlfriend in Canal Flats until she answered her phone and asked her to come pick me up. Then we called the police,” he said.

He escaped the crash with only a sore head and shoulders.

“I hit the side window. I probably have a minor concussion but I’ve had lots of those, so it’s okay,” he said.

Columbia Valley RCMP Corp. Grant Simpson said Wright was lucky to escape serious harm given the seriousness of the crash.

“The accident wrote off the vehicle. He was lucky to walk away from this with no injuries,” he said.

Accidents of this nature can be a common occurrence in the valley, especially with the coming of winter and wildlife behaviour around this time.

“These kinds of things happen quite frequently with so much wildlife in the area,” Simpson said.

“It’s bears not so much as deer, but half the time people look outside and can see a bear looking for food sources to fatten up for the winter.”

Drivers who choose to travel in the early hours of the morning should adjust their driving patterns to avoid accidents or collisions with wildlife, Simpson said.

“Drivers need to be more alert to animal patterns while driving and adjust their driving patterns to suit the conditions,” he said.

The bear was removed from the side of the highway early that morning by the Ministry of Highways.