{"id":74223,"date":"2019-09-03T21:29:22","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T21:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bears-cause-two-crashes-in-two-days-involving-same-family\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T16:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T16:00:13","slug":"bears-cause-two-crashes-in-two-days-involving-same-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bears-cause-two-crashes-in-two-days-involving-same-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Bears cause two crashes in two days involving same family"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A bear ran into a three-wheeled motorcycle Saturday north of Durango, seriously injuring the driver and passenger. The bear dented the gas tank and ripped off the trike\u2019s fender.<\/span>Courtesy of Roxanne Kascak-Pendleton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Bears caused two vehicle crashes in two days over Labor Day weekend in La Plata County \u2013 involving the same Texas family.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt blew my mind,\u201d said Roxanne Kascak-Pendleton, a member of the family.<\/p>\n

In the first crash, Anne Kascak, 57, and her husband, Edward Kascak, 60, were returning to their RV in Silverton after attending the Four Corners Motorcycle Rally on Saturday night when a bear hit their three-wheeled motorcycle.<\/p>\n

The couple had been vacationing in Colorado, after Edward Kascak\u2019s recovery from a liver transplant, which had kept the two close to their hometown hospital, said Kascak-Pendleton, the couple\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n

The 400- to 600-pound bear was running across U.S. Highway 550 south of Trimble Lane when it hit the side of the trike, Kascak-Pendleton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis head hit the gas tank and dented it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"A
A bear ran into a three-wheeled motorcycle Saturday north of Durango, seriously injuring the driver and passenger. The bear dented the gas tank and ripped off the trike\u2019s fender.<\/span>Courtesy of Roxanne Kascak-Pendleton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Anne Kascak was thrown from the trike, suffering a head injury and a serious leg injury in the crash, Kascak-Pendleton said.<\/p>\n

Edward Kascak kept his seat on the trike even though his leg was broken.<\/p>\n

Somehow, the bear engaged the throttle on impact, so Edward shot forward an additional 500 feet before stopping, Kascak-Pendleton said.<\/p>\n

Edward didn\u2019t see the bear hit him. So when he turned around, he saw his wife and the bear lying in the middle of the road, Kascak-Pendleton said. The bear got up, ran away and then collapsed in a ditch, she said.<\/p>\n

The weight of the trike likely saved the couple\u2019s lives because the vehicle didn\u2019t roll, she said. The two were wearing helmets.<\/p>\n

The couple were taken immediately to Mercy Regional Medical Center, and Anne Kascak then was airlifted to a hospital in Albuquerque, Kascak-Pendleton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer brain was swelling, and it was bleeding, and they didn\u2019t have a neurosurgeon,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Edward couldn\u2019t go with Anne because of his leg injuries, Kascak-Pendleton said. But both were expected to recover.<\/p>\n

That might be the end of the story, but Kascak-Pendleton was to have her own close encounter with a bear Sunday night.<\/p>\n

Kascak-Pendleton flew Sunday into Durango from Houston to care for her parents.<\/p>\n

After retrieving her parents\u2019 RV and trike from Silverton, Kascak-Pendleton was driving with her father to Albuquerque on Highway 550 south of Bondad Hill about 6:30 p.m. when a bear ran across the road in front of them.<\/p>\n

Kascak-Pendleton hit her brakes to avoid the bear, but a strap on the trike she was hauling snapped and the 29-foot RV she was towing fishtailed. The pickup and the RV jackknifed and slid off the road, she said. Neither one was injured.<\/p>\n

\"A
A bear ran out in front of a GMC pickup truck hauling an RV on U.S. Highway 550 south of Bondad Hill on Sunday. The driver of the pickup was the daughter of the two injured in the bear-caused motorcycle crash.<\/span>Courtesy of Roxanne Kascak-Pendleton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI was so upset,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She called the same towing company, Bo Dean\u2019s Towing, that had helped with her parents\u2019 trike, she said.<\/p>\n

Despite her bad luck, Kascak-Pendleton said she was thankful for all the help she received retrieving her parents\u2019 RV from Silver Lakes RV park and assistance after her crash.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cops and everybody that we ran into has helped and been so nice. \u2026 I can\u2019t thank them enough because I don\u2019t know how I would have done it otherwise,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Kascak-Pendleton was with her mother in the hospital earlier this week and expected both her parents to recover.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll be fine; he\u2019ll be fine,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

mshinn@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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