Nominee No. 3: [Hickory Daily Record]:
Ken Charles Barger, 47, accidentally shot himself to death in December
in Newton, NC. Awakening to the sound of a ringing telephone beside his
bed, he reached for the phone but grabbed instead a Smith & Wesson 38
Special, which discharged when he drew it to his ear.
Nominee No. 1: [San Jose Mercury News]:
An unidentified man, using a shotgun like a club to break a former
girlfriend's windshield, accidentally shot himself to death when the gun
discharged, blowing a hole in his gut.
THE WINNER! [Arkansas Democrat Gazette]:
Two local men were injured when their pickup truck left the road and
struck a tree near Cotton Patch, on State Highway 38 early Monday.
Woodruff County deputy Dovey Snyder reported the accident shortly after
midnight Monday. Thurston Poole, 33, of Des Arc, and Billy Ray Wallis,
38, of Little Rock, were returning to Des Arc after a frog-gigging trip
on an overcast Sunday night when Poole's pickup truck headlights
malfunctioned.
The two men concluded that the headlight fuse on the older-model truck
had burned out. As a replacement fuse was not available, Wallis noticed
that the 22-caliber bullet from his pistol fit perfectly into the fuse
box next to the steering-wheel column. Upon inserting the bullet the
headlights again began to operate properly, and the two men proceeded on
eastbound toward the White River Bridge. After traveling approximately
20 miles, and just before crossing the river, the bullet apparently
overheated, discharged, and struck Poole in the testicles. The vehicle
swerved sharply right, exiting the pavement, and striking a tree.
Poole suffered only minor cuts and abrasions from the accident, but will
require extensive surgery to repair the damage to his testicles, which
will never operate as intended. Wallis sustained a broken clavicle and
was treated and released. "Thank God we weren't on that bridge when
Thurston shot his balls off, or we might both be dead," stated Wallis.
"I've been a trooper for 10 years in this part of the world, but this is
a first for me. I can't believe that those two would admit how this
accident happened," said Deputy Snyder. Upon being notified of the
wreck, Lavinia (Poole's wife) asked how many frogs the boys had caught
and did anyone get them from the truck?
--
Will Brink @ http://www.brinkzone.com/