A black bear destroyed a Houston County teacher’s car while she was enrolled in a weeklong summer art class in Tennessee.

Mary Jane Yarbrough, as reported by WMAZ, teaches art at Warner Robins High School. Getting a head start on a school project for her students next year, Yarbrough is taking an art class in Gatlinburg. When she woke up one morning, Yarbrough found a black bear inside her Camry.

“It was 6 in the morning and I just keep hearing honking happening,” Yarbrough told the station. She says she was worried something was wrong with her neighbor when “I open the door. My dog is going crazy, and I see that it’s my car that is honking and shaking, and I was like ‘Oh, my gosh, someone is in there. Someone is stuck in my car.’”

But it wasn’t a person. It was a black bear.

“The bear actually like smacked the window and I was like ‘Oh, my gosh, that’s a bear,’” Yarbrough said. “It was just disbelief. Like there is no way.”

Police soon arrived but not until after the bear destroyed her Camry.

“He ripped the dash, my airbag, the radio is out, he went through my glove box.”

“I was really trying to hold onto that car for just a little longer until it wasn’t so hard to buy a car,” Yarbrough said.

She said the police officers who helped her said they’ve had close encounters with bears before, but this is one of the worst cases of damage they have seen.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Mercer guard Zaire Williams (1) drives against Tennessee guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Credit: AP

Featured

A person exits the Wolf Creek Library in Atlanta after casting his ballot during election day on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC