Two men were injured when the pickup truck they were in left the road and struck a tree early Monday morning. A County Deputy reported the accident shortly after midnight Monday. Both men are listed in stable condition at Baptist Medical Center. The accident occurred as the two men were returning home after a frog-gigging trip. On an overcast Sunday night, the pickup truck's 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, the driver 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 towards home. After traveling approximately 20 miles and just before crossing a river, the bullet apparently overheated, discharged and struck the driver in the right testicle. The vehicle swerved sharply to the right, exited the pavement and struck a tree. The driver suffered only minor cuts and abrasions from the accident, but will require surgery to repair the other wound. The passenger sustained a broken collar bone.
Upon the County Deputy’s arrival, the passenger stated, "Thank God we weren't on that bridge when that bullet went off or we might have been dead." When the driver’s wife was contacted by the County Deputy, she asked how many frogs the men had caught, and did anyone get them from the truck.
The final statement by the County Deputy was, "I've been a deputy in this area for 10 years, but this is a first for me. I can't believe that those two would actually admit how the accident happened."
