A 46-year-old woman from Montreal has died after she was mauled by a bear north of Trois-Rivieres.
Alexandrina Gavriloaia of St. Laurent was attacked Wednesday evening in a wooded area of La Tuque.
According to SQ officer Gregory Gomez Del Prado, Dragos Gavriloaia was a forestry engineer who was clearing brush in the woods.
His wife joined him on the trip to keep him company.
"The man was doing some trimming in the woods and at one point he saw a bear who was actually attacking the woman," said Del Prado.
Her husband was able to chase the bear away and put her in their pickup truck, but 45 minutes into the drive to the hospital, Gavriloaia lost control of the vehicle and crashed in a ditch.
When an ambulance arrived at the crash site, Alexandrina was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.
Stunned friends
Friends and neighbours are stunned by her death.
"Well, I'm shocked... I hope... I don't know what to say," said Diane Clendenning, who lives near the couple.
Alex Bejenaru said "it shocked me, really it shocked me 'cause... well, I knew this lady for, as I said, for six years."
Rodica Gaizler, who was a fellow immigrant from Romania, was devastated by the news.
"I could not believe it," said Gaizler. " I was trembling. She was an extraordinary woman."
An autopsy will determine if the woman died from the bear attack or the car accident.
