Trooper hits a black bear on I-89
September 27, 2025 | By Lisa ScagliottiUpdate Sept. 28: Sgt. Jonathan Duncan who handled this case replied to an inquiry from the Waterbury Roundabout regarding the status of the bear. “The bear was unable to be located on scene,” Duncan said. So it remains unclear whether the bear was injured and if it survived this encounter.
Early Thursday morning on Interstate 89 in Middlesex, Vermont State Police responded to a one-vehicle collision involving a state police cruiser and a black bear.
Just before 1:30 a.m., Trooper Jae Farnum-Boylan was headed north on I-89 near mile marker 57.6 when a bear ambled out of the median between the north- and south-bound lanes into the path of the cruiser, according to the report by responding officer, Sgt. Jonathan Duncan.
The left front section of Farnum-Boylan’s vehicle hit the bear, causing the cruiser’s airbag to fully deploy, the report states.
Trooper Farnum-Boylan, who was wearing a seatbelt, was not hurt, and the incident did not involve any other vehicles, police said. Local fire and rescue personnel responded, but Farnum-Boylan did not need to be taken to a hospital.
The cruiser, a 2021 Ford Explorer, sustained damage to the left side, the left front fender, and the undercarriage, according to the account.
The report did not say whether the bear survived the crash. In response to a Waterbury Roundabout inquiry, Lt. Thomas Howard, commander at the Berlin state police barracks, said he believed the bear did not survive, but he did not have any further details. Howard also confirmed that Farnum-Boylan, 28 of Williston, was on duty at the time of the incident.
The weather was rainy and cloudy and the highway pavement was wet, the report noted.