Teenager Survives Bear Attack In Western Mass.
AMHERST (CBS) -- A 17-year-old had a frightening encounter with a bear in Western Massachusetts over the weekend.
Carly Hall came face-to-face with a black bear on Tracey Circle in Amherst Saturday night.
"It was really scary," she said. "We were in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The Belchertown teenager was walking a dog with her friends when the dog started barking frantically. That's when the group spotted something in a neighbor's yard.
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"And then we realized it was a bear," Hall said. "We started to back up slowly."
The bear chased after Hall and the dog, getting close enough to leave scratches on her back. She managed to get on to the roof of a parked car, and the bear continued after the dog.
"I was just trying to get away from it," Hall said. "I think I was actually pretty lucky because it wasn't a bad scratch at all."
Environmental police said there were two bears and a cub in the area, and they may have felt threatened by the dog.
"Turn away and try to get away would be my recommendation," Environmental Police Lt. Dan Unaitis said.
Authorities are also reminding residents to not leave food outside and keep a close eye on their pets.
Hall says she still plans to celebrate her 18th birthday later this month by camping out in the backyard.