A hunter has been killed after a bear shot out of a tree by his partner fell on him, authorities have said.
The Virginia government department said 58-year-old Lester C. Harvey, of Phenix, Virginia, had been part of a group that was following a bear they were hunting on December 9.
When the bear ran up a tree, the hunting party backed away. But when one of the hunters shot the animal, this caused it to fall on top of Harvey, who was about 10 feet away from the bottom of the tree, the state’s Department of Wildlife Resources said.
One of the hunting group provided first aid at the scene until emergency services arrived.
The father-of-five was then rushed to two different hospitals, but died from his injuries on Friday, December 13.
An obituary said Harvey was a self-employed contractor, who was married and the father of three sons and two daughters. He also had eight grandchildren.
An official from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources told 6news Richmond the department was “not currently seeking any charges related to this incident.”
