Bear Breaks Into Prius, 'Drives' Away As Family Vacationing In Lake Tahoe Watches From Window (VIDEO)

A family vacationing in Lake Tahoe, Calif., awoke to the sound of their car horn only to find a bear trapped inside their Toyota Prius.

The bear, reportedly stuck inside the car, began thrashing in an attempt to free itself and moved the gear shift from park to neutral, the Contra Costa Times reports.

The family seemed to sympathize with the large animal, though.

"By the time he got that car in gear he was desperate," Cece McCarthy told KABC-TV.

"He was probably thinking, "Why can't I get out of here? What's happening?'" Brian McCarthy said to Denver's NBC 9.

The car rolled down the driveway and crashed into some boulders in a neighbor's lawn, causing some damage to the exterior.

But damage to the interior was far worse.

The bear had ripped out the back seats, clawed through the fabric and destroyed the paneling, NBC 9 reports.

The animal managed to free itself and ran away, but the police were surprised by the call.

"Normally, you'll get reports of the Dumpster divers and trash divers, but bears breaking into cars is different," Lt. Stevenson of the South Lake Tahoe department, told the New York Daily News.

The owners claim there was not any food in the vehicle.

Apparently bears have a knack for getting into Toyotas.

A brown bear in Colorado reportedly broke into a Corolla last summer and also got stuck.

The car rolled downhill before hitting some trees, according to Denver's ABC 7 News. The car's owner said he thought the bear might have been attracted to a sandwich that was left in the car.

WATCH:

Comments

[Dede Eagleburger]

02:47 PM on 09/09/2011

The real question is, did he get the pic-a-nic basket???

[Olena Gill]

02:34 PM on 09/09/2011

Hope there was a bear claws oops clause in the car insurance

[yoyodyne666]

11:31 AM on 09/09/2011

Is that considered a violation or a car jacking? I suppose t depends on if it was a polar or black bear.

[threalReginald]

10:41 AM on 09/09/2011

It was a Hipster big foot making an ironic statement.

[TXfemmom]

10:36 AM on 09/09/2011

Can you imagine the insurance information on that claim?  Would it have to be covered under uninsured driver?

[jantomnidrah]

10:24 AM on 09/09/2011

Somebody tell huff po that car is not a Prius

[MRDMSY]

11:04 AM on 09/09/2011

It's the first model style Prius sold in 2000.

[Bobcaaat]

11:12 AM on 09/09/2011

It's a first generation Prius.

[PlayTOE]

10:00 AM on 09/09/2011

Prius preferred by bears ... that bear was just putting in his stamp of approval on the green technology.

[tenzindorje]

09:39 AM on 09/09/2011

The bear thought it was an Ursus, not a Prius. Did it get good MPGs? Did it know how to hypermile?

[Bare Bones]

09:39 AM on 09/09/2011

the story is funny, but seriously, that is not a prius. Stating that it is a prius does, however, make the story even more amusing though.

[centsable]

09:45 AM on 09/09/2011

Why would she say it was a Prius if it wasn't. Looks like a Prius to me.

[MRDMSY]

10:40 AM on 09/09/2011

Yes, it is a Prius. It's the first generation Prius that was first sold in the US in 2000.

[Bare Bones]

09:36 AM on 09/09/2011

i'm glad he didn't bear down on the accealerator

[tyger]

09:18 AM on 09/09/2011

So the drives away part was a total lie since he had no keys.

[centsable]

09:47 AM on 09/09/2011

If the car is on a hill and the car is put into neutral, you don't need keys to "drive" away. The E brake must not have been on.

[DCmykl]

08:29 AM on 09/09/2011

Ugh...mmm...folks...I hate to be the one to tell you but that car you've been driving isn't a Prius. There is absolutely nothing about that vehicle tht looks like a Prius. The roof line is wrong. The wheels are wrong. The rear end is completely wrong. The front end design and headlight assembly is totally wrong. And the Prius has never been produced in that color. Oops.

[renee4326]

08:27 AM on 09/09/2011

I thought the brake had to be pressed now in order to change a gear. It's a safety feature to keep small chidlren from rolling a car away. Hmmm

[mudshark12]

08:38 AM on 09/09/2011

Bear must've hit the brake it its haste to get out of there. I'm wondering: how did it get in there in the first place?

[kyosaku]

11:59 PM on 09/09/2011

Bears are very strong and have very long claws, something like a crowbar on the end of each leg.

[Littleshovel]

08:19 AM on 09/09/2011

Go Bears!!

[Roshi98]

08:11 AM on 09/09/2011

Have to say I like the attitude of these folks who seem to clearly see the bright and funny side of the situation - the bear lived and it's only a car. Compared to some of the idiotic folks we see in other such clips (like the snake on windshield family a month ago) these people seem to genuinely care more for the well-being on the animal than a completely replaceable piece of property.

[kyosaku]

12:04 AM on 09/10/2011

An awful lot of what some of us are prone to groan, moan, and complain about is pretty funny when we chill a bit. Comedy is made of such stuff. Someone on this tread mentioned Bob Newhart as the insurance adjuster on the phone. I keep obsessing about it.