The driver who hit and killed a famous grizzly bear south of Grand Teton National Park earlier this week was not speeding and the bear’s death was an accident, law enforcement officials said Friday.

His death grizzly no. 399 Tuesday night in Snake River Canyon, south of Jackson, saddened tourists, wildlife biologists and amateur and professional photographers who for years have studied and captured images of the bear and her many cubs and tracked her comings and goings at the site the social networks.

“The bear immediately came out onto the road,” Lincoln County Sheriff’s Patrol Lt. John Stetzenbach told the Jackson Hole News & Guide on Friday. The driver “was unable to brake in time to avoid the bear and the collision occurred.”

He said the collision “was truly an accident” and that the driver was not speeding or distracted and was not cited. The Subaru that hit the bear had to be towed from the scene, Stetzenbach said.

He declined to identify the driver, noting that some online comments blamed the driver for the bear’s death.

At 28 years old, No. 399 was the oldest known breeding female in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Every spring, wildlife enthusiasts eagerly await her emergence from her den to see how many cubs she’s given birth to over the winter — then quickly share the news online. The bear has had 18 known cubs in eight litters over the years, including a litter of four in 2020. She was about 7 feet tall and weighed about 400 pounds.

Named after the identification tag attached to the ear by the researchers, the grizzly was often seen near Grand Teton roads, attracting crowds and creating traffic jams.

Photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen previously described the bear as his own muse.

“Her intelligence, her demeanor, her beauty,” Mangelsen told “60 Minutes” in 2018. “The fact that she had all these offspring. There aren’t many bears that I know of that have three sets of triplets.”

Grand Teton bear biologist Justin Schwabedissen said Thursday he believes her one-year-old cub, which apparently wasn’t hit, will survive on its own.

Authorities said 49 grizzly bears died in vehicle collisions between 2009 and 2023.

Grizzly bears generally live up to 25 years, although some in the wild live more than 35 years, according to the Fish & Wildlife Service.

Before 1800, there were o estimated at 50,000 grizzly bears live in 18 western states, including Wyoming, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. By 1975, the population of the contiguous 48 states was reduced to 700-800.

After decades of being listed as threatened in the lower 48 states under the US Endangered Species Act, the population has grown to at least 1,923 grizzly bears in the contiguous 48 states.

contributed to this report.