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Some things that should be pointed out regarding stories like this from places like northern New Jersey:

1. Black bears are herbivores, not carnivores, by nature. As a result, they generally avoid people and will rarely, if ever, "prey" on human beings or on any other animals for that matter.

2. Grizzly bears are generally carnivores, are much larger than black bears, and are more likely to attack humans than black bears are. Outside of zoos, there isn't a grizzly bear living within a thousand miles of New Jersey.

3. Having said that, there is an interesting difference in the temperaments of black bears and grizzly bears. Grizzly bear attacks on humans are almost always related to encounters in the wilderness involving a mother bear who is protecting her cubs, or involving an unfortunate human being who happens to find himself between an adult bear and a food source. Black bears, on the other hand, have been known on rare occasion to attack humans in the woods for no apparent reason at all. The incident described here is not likely to involve this type of attack, since these rare attacks involve black bears that "go nuts" for some reason and do not back down from their target like this.

Black bears are not herbivores. Black bears, like grizzly bears, are omnivores, although protein may form a larger proportion of a grizzly's diet than of a black bears.
Black bears eat vegetation, garbage, carrion, and, when they can get it, fresh meat. They are opportunistic feeders. Only polar bears are obligaate carnivores.

Grizzly bear attacks are more likely in areas heavily populated by grizzly bears, but, based on my reading, grizzlies rarely if ever eat people they kill. Most grizzly attacks are from sows protecting their cubs, bears startled by hikers, or male grizzlies mistaking heavily clothed large male humans for other male grizzlies in their territory.

Black bear attacks, based on numerous articles I have read, as well as science specials on educational programming on television, are of two types: females protecting their cubs - in which case the best defense is to play dead, and male black bears looking for food, particularly before hibernating, in which case active defense is your best chance for survival.

I don't believe bears "go nuts". I think there is a reason for everything they do - we just may not be able to read those reasons, and its always more difficult to predict individualized behavior in an intelligent animal. Compare snails with people for example. Snails always behaive like snails.