Lester C. Harvey, Phenix, Virginia man dies from wounds after bear shot in tree falls on top of bear hunter during expedition in Lunenburg County.
Define karma? A Virginia man has died from wounds sustained after a bear in a tree shot by one of his hunting partners fell on him, state wildlife officials said.
Lester C. Harvey, 58, of Phenix, Virginia, was part of a hunting party that had pursued a black bear, leading the fleeing wild animal to run up a tree. As the group retreated from the tree, a hunter shot the bear. The animal fell on top of Harvey who was standing about 10 feet (3 meters) from the bottom of the tree.
The incident occurred on Monday, Dec. 9 in Lunenburg County, between Richmond and Danville, Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources said in a statement.
Trepidations of bear hunting
A member of the group rendered first aid, with Harvey rushed to two different hospitals.
The bear hunter died from his injuries Friday, the wildlife department stated.
An obituary for Harvey, a married father of five with eight grandchildren, said he was a self-employed contractor and avid outdoorsman.
‘The Department is not currently seeking any charges related to this incident,’ an official with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources said Sunday.
Similar incidents have occurred in recent years.
In 2018, a man in Alaska was critically injured after his hunting partner shot a bear on a ridge. The animal tumbled down a slope into the man, who was also struck by rocks dislodged by the bear.
Another man was injured in 2019 after his hunting partner shot a bear in a tree in North Carolina. The bear fell out of the tree and began biting the hunter. The man and the animal then tumbled off a cliff. The hunter was taken to a hospital, while the bear was later found dead.
