PARIS (KFSM) –A driver traveling on Highway 109 in Paris told police that he had hit a black bear, Logan County investigators said. “The way he desc...

PARIS (KFSM) --A driver traveling on Highway 109 in Paris told police that he had hit a black bear, Logan County investigators said.

"The way he described, it may have rolled up under the vehicle, the front wheels and the rear wheels also," Logan County Sheriff Boyd Hicks said.

According to the sheriff, the black bear was badly injured and ran up an embankment into the woods. Two deputies later found the bear.

"They made the determination to put the bear down," Hicks said.

The Sheriff said he put the two deputies on unpaid leave.

"Game and Fish was on the way and what they should have done is wait until Game and Fish and the biologist got there, so they could make the determination of what needed to be done," he said.

According to wildlife officers, black bears are a protected species and can't be killed outside of a hunting season. Arkansas Game and Fish officers haven't said if there will be an investigation.