April 24, 2012
By Eric Pfeiffer, News.yahoo.com
For the Accidents page – FL
A Florida couple was on a
weekend camping trip that ended in an airlift to the emergency room.
Steven Egan, 52, was hunting with his girlfriend, Lisa Simmons,
in the northern part of the state when he mistook her for a hog and
shot her.
"He saw a hog and thought he shot it and went to
look for it," Maj. Steve Clair of the Flagler County Sheriff's
Office told ABC News. "He heard her and thought it was a hog
and just shot."
The mistake was not actually related to her
appearance. Rather, Egan had earlier shot at a hog that continued to
evade him. He reportedly instructed Simmons to stay at their
campsite while he pursued the evasive animal, according to the
Flagler County Sheriff's Office However, Simmons ventured away from
the campsite, apparently searching for oranges that had fallen from
nearby trees.
When Egan heard rustling in the woods, he
fired in her direction without first making visual confirmation with
his intended target. Instead, Simmons was struck in the legs by a
.30-caliber bullet from Egan's gun. She was airlifted to the nearby
Halifax Health Medical Center where she is listed as being in
serious condition.
Authorities say they aren't planning to
charge Egan in the accidental shooting.
"He was very
sympathetic that he'd shot his girlfriend," Maj. Clair said.
"It
was an accident. I think it was just a violation of one of the
cardinal rules of hunting which is you never shoot what you don't
see."
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