A vehicle struck and killed a black bear on a road in Florida, and three people from another vehicle who got out to help were struck and killed by a third vehicle, police said. Several others were reported injured.

Seminole Police Department spokesman Gary Bitner told The Associated Press that Sunday's events apparently happened quickly.

He said four people were injured so severely that they were taken by helicopter to a hospital. He said four others were taken by ambulances. The woman in the initial crash with the bear was not hurt.

The identities of those involved weren't immediately available, Bitner said.

Accident reconstruction experts were on the scene.

"They are still trying to figure everything out," he said.