SAN FRANCISCO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- An off-duty firefighter from Bend in central Oregon on the U.S. west coast was killed over the weekend when his motorcycle hit a huge bear on a highway, the KATU2 TV channel reported Sunday.

The victim, 39-year-old Rhett Larsen, was on his way back home from a visit to Portland when his motorcycle slammed into the large bear Saturday night, which was running in front of his motorcycle on Highway 26 near Warm Springs in Oregon.

KATU2 quoted Oregon police sources as saying that Larsen was thrown from his motorcycle and hit by an oncoming Ford SUV.

Both Larsen and the bear died on the spot in the crash, police said.

The driver of the SUV was rushed to a hospital in a helicopter ambulance and his current condition was not disclosed.

Larsen joined the Bend Fire Department in October 2002 as a Firefighter/Paramedic, said the TV channel.