Man punches bear in nose to survive attack in driveway

HAYWOOD COUNTY, North Carolina (KTRK) -- A man says he survived a bear attack in his driveway, WLOS-TV reports.

"And I just happened to look around and there's three bears right there beside me," Sonny Pumphrey said.

It was a mother bear and her two cubs. While the cubs ran off, the mother didn't.

"She made a charging, dead run at me. That sucker was eyeball to eyeball to me," Pumphrey said.

Stunned, Pumphrey said he reacted with reflex.

"I hit her right dead on the point of the nose the first shot and when I did, she went down and started trying to bite me right here. I just continue pounding and pounding and pounding and she's continuing trying to bite me. And like I said, she got a hold of me and then shook me a little bit, then she let go and she took a swat at me, and when she took a swat at me, she knocked me about eight feet over on the concrete," Pumphrey said.

Pumphrey's wife Betty says she was making dinner when she heard the commotion outside. She went to the front door with their Yorkie to see what the noise was.

"I seen her stand up and rare her paw back, and all I seen was a mouthful of teeth. And I just-- I knew he was going to be gone," she said.

The couple said the bear eventually ran back into the woods where Betty shot at, just in case the bear decided to come back.

Sonny survived the incident with a bite to his hip and some bruises.

"We have a lot to be thankful for, because we were both very, very lucky," Betty says.