Wreck with black bear leaves 3 dead

• A woman in an SUV hits a 300-pound black bear


• Three people in one car pull over to help


• Another car plows into the three good Samaritans, killing them

(CNN) -- A rare car crash involving a black bear and a chain reaction left three people dead and eight injured in Florida, authorities said.

A woman in an SUV hit the 300-pound black bear in a dark, remote road Sunday night, leaving her stranded at Big Cypress Seminole Reservation in the Everglades.

A group of three people in a separate car pulled over to help, said Gary Bitner, a spokesman for the Seminole Police Department.

Once they got out of their vehicle, a third car plowed into the disabled SUV then hit the three good Samaritans, authorities said.

All three died, Bitner said.

The three cars had a total of 13 passengers; eight were injured and an additional two were not hurt, including the woman in the SUV.

"I have never heard of a case of a bear being in a traffic accident," Bitner said. "We have had cases of Florida panthers being involved in car accident, but not a Florida black bear."

The identities of the victims were not immediately released.

The bear died when it was struck by the SUV.