The victim was driving his pick-up truck with his gun settled, but not secured, in the gun rack in the back window. Contrary to law, the gun was loaded, the safety was off. A collision occurred when the victim attempted to turn left and was struck by an oncoming car.

The accident dislodged the gun from the gun rack, causing it to violently impact with the (in)side of the pickup truck, resulting in a misfire, shooting the victim in the head.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

---

I heard this on local radio news, although I’m certain the account was written up in the Herald and News in Klamath Falls, Oregon. It occurred in the middle part of September, 2005.

Submitted on 11/01/2005

Submitted by: Bonnie
Reference: KLAD Radio, Klamath Falls, OR

Copyright © 2005 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
While firearms accidents are way too common, this one plays out like a cartoon gag, which is why I'm voting DA, if a bit grudgingly! That, and there IS stupidity here. Gun unsecured to rack: strike one. Gun illegaly loaded: strike two. Safety off: strike three, you're out. I'll also wager that the victim made a hasty/illegal left turn as well, causing his own demise (strike four, if there were such a thing!)

Greg said:
Maybe Toss: Too Common
I'm not convinced it's exceptional enough for me, to be honest ...

Tracy said:
Maybe Toss: Lacks Excellence
Not sure it's that uncommon for me!

Jack said:
Neutral: Personal Account
I agree with James. I like this because it's sufficiently more out of the usual gun accidents that we get. But without a name and/or a date, I was unable to verify something that happened almost 2 months ago. So So, all I can do is classify this as a PA. Sorry, Bonnie.

Sheryl said:
Neutral: Personal Account
Same problem here. I did a search and was unable to come up with any media coverage of the incident. The fact that newspapers archive the stories and then demand that readers pay to subscribe often means that we're unable to seach back to a story. This was not the case here but it shows that submitting a story as soon as possible is the best way to get verification. Also, as Jack said, the lack of name and/or date made the search nearly impossible.

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