Bear victim credits neighbour in truck for saving her life
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 | 5:34 PM PT
CBC News
Katy Yin is expected to spend another two weeks in hospital recovering from being attacked by a bear in Coquitlam, B.C., last week. (CBC) The woman from Coquitlam, B.C., who was attacked by a black bear last week says she wouldn't be alive if a quick-thinking neighbour hadn't rammed the bear with his truck.
Speaking from her bed at Royal Columbian hospital in New Westminster on Tuesday, Katy Yin told CBC News the risky move gave other neighbours enough time to drag her to safety.
Yin said the incident began when she was peacefully gardening in the front yard of her Westwood Plateau home last Wednesday morning.
Then suddenly she was looking straight up into the face of an aggressive black bear.
She tried to turn and grab some rocks from her garden to throw at it, but by the time she turned back, the bear was on top of her.
She knew, once the attack began, her only chance was to fight back or die, Yin said.
"He's going to eat me. He's not going to go away. It doesn't matter. So I used all of my energy to yell and if I can do something, I have to help myself. I'm not ready to die. I've got to fight," she said.
Katy Yin suffered numerous injuries, including bites and scrapes on her legs, arms, head and torso, when the black bear attacked her. (CBC) Yin suffered several severe injuries in the attack, including multiple fractures, deep bruises and countless cuts on her legs, arms and torso. One massive wound on the back of her head required 20 staples to close.
A week after the attack, her body remains covered in scars and surgical dressing, and her left arm still requires more surgery where the bear ripped it right down to the bone.
She is expected to remain in the hospital for at least another two weeks.
The bear was later shot by police. Officers said it was likely hunting Yin as food, but the results of a necropsy planned by wildlife authorities to try to determine why the attack happened have not been released.
