Author Topic: Darwin award candidate? (Read 867 times)

UserName · « **on:** April 15, 2003, 11:45:01 PM »

It's all fun and games until someone loses.. well, you know how it goes.

Teen blinded by potato-gun misfire.

Quote

04/15/2003

By DONNA FIELDER / Denton Record-Chronicle

A Denton teenager was in critical condition Monday after he was shot in the face with a frog that exploded from a "potato gun."

Daniel Benjamin Berry, 17, was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth early Sunday after he looked down the gun's PVC pipe barrel and was struck in the face by the frog.

"He is going to be blind in both eyes," Daniel's mother, Lisa Berry, said in the hospital's critical-care waiting room.

A potato gun is usually made with a PVC pipe with one end sealed. A potato or another object is wedged into the open end. Flammable liquid such as hairspray is put into a sealed chamber in the device and ignited.

Sunday's accident occurred about 1 a.m. in the Copper Canyon area. Denton County Sheriff's Department spokesman Kevin Patton said three teenagers took the gun and potatoes to the bridge.

"At some point, someone decided to fire frogs from the gun," he said. "And at some point, the gun misfired."

A crowd of teenagers had gathered to watch, the sheriff's spokesman said.

"Mr. Berry was a spectator. He walked over to try to help with the misfire," Mr. Patton said. "He looked down the barrel, and the gun fired on a delayed reaction."

He was taken to a hospital emergency room and was later transferred to the Fort Worth hospital, Mr. Patton said.

Mrs. Berry said she couldn't understand why the illegal weapons are available on the Internet.

"Some other kid ordered one over the Internet," she said. "They thought it was a toy. It's not a toy; it's a dangerous weapon."

Daniel's mother said her son had broken bones in his face and would require surgery. He told her he didn't think there was a frog in the gun and looked to try to see it.

"He said it just went off. It was a misfire. It hit him square in the face," she said.

Mr. Patton said no charges would be filed.

"This is the first incident involving a potato gun that we have had to deal with," Mr. Patton said. "We had six teenagers in possession of a potato gun, and one of them was critically injured.

"What are you going to do? This was an accident."

Mrs. Berry said she didn't blame the other boys. They did not know the power of the gun, she said.

Daniel had wanted to join the Air Force but she would not give her permission, she said. She encouraged him to attend college until he was old enough to join without parental consent.

"All he ever wanted to do was be an Air Force pilot," she said. "That isn't going to happen now."

http://www.dallasnews.com/localnews/stories/041503dnmetblinded.d18cb.html

Tarmac · « **Reply #1 on:** April 16, 2003, 12:47:01 AM »

Denton, as in Texas?

Too bad about his flying dreams. Only takes one moment of bad judgement.

UserName · « **Reply #2 on:** April 16, 2003, 01:07:37 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Tarmac
Denton, as in Texas?

Too bad about his flying dreams. Only takes one moment of bad judgement.

Yeah, Denton Texas.

I wonder how good of a soldier he'd make if looking into the barrel of a loaded gun seems like a perfectly good idea to him.

funkedup · « **Reply #3 on:** April 16, 2003, 01:10:56 AM »

Pretty stupid, but he's not eligible for a Darwin because he can still breed.

SOB · « **Reply #4 on:** April 16, 2003, 02:59:08 AM »

Damn, maybe Texas ain't such a bad place after all. If that happened in California, all of the other kids would have been arrested. The entire school body at whatever school they went to would have to be counciled and cirriculum created to teach the evils of projectiles. And, of course, the mother would be suing the parents of the other kids, the other kids themselves, the department of transportation (they were on a bridge), and the doctors who couldn't get the kid's sight back.

SOB

sling322 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 16, 2003, 03:04:42 AM »

Damn....I live in Denton.

Story didnt say when this happened. Heard a crapload of sirens going off the other day. The new main fire station is close to my house so I hear them all the time.

Wonder if any of the Denton kids that play AH know this guy? I know there are a couple of kids near me who play AH....Slash27 is one, I think.

rpm · « **Reply #6 on:** April 16, 2003, 03:07:00 AM »

This is what happens when you use the wrong caliber ammo.
My Favorite Darwin Award winner was the guy from Arkansas that replaced the burnt out headlight fuse with a .22 LR cartridge.
The round heated up, fired, ricoched off the dash and removed his left nut.

Martlet · « **Reply #7 on:** April 16, 2003, 04:10:33 AM »

Let's see who stops posting.

I'll bet it was one of the fools from the potato gun post.

StSanta · « **Reply #8 on:** April 16, 2003, 06:27:21 AM »

Poor guy. Wasn't the most intelligent thing to do, but still...I know I did stupid things as a teenager. Sounds pretty innocent if a bit stupid.

Blinded by a frog shot from a spud gun. Ugh :/

Oh, I expect the Animal Welfare people to come say 'WHAT ABOUT THE FROG, IT DIED!' soon.

Grrr.

X2Lee · « **Reply #9 on:** April 16, 2003, 06:44:47 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by rpm371
This is what happens when you use the wrong caliber ammo.
My Favorite Darwin Award winner was the guy from Arkansas that replaced the burnt out headlight fuse with a .22 LR cartridge.
The round heated up, fired, ricoched off the dash and removed his left nut.

If it had been loaded with potato, he would most likely be dead.

Hortlund · « **Reply #10 on:** April 16, 2003, 06:53:51 AM »

Damn sad story

gofaster · « **Reply #11 on:** April 16, 2003, 08:49:41 AM »

The real tragedy is that he was blinded stupidly while being cruel to animals.

"How did you lose your vision?"

"I was shot in the face with a frog."

Tarmac · « **Reply #12 on:** April 16, 2003, 12:24:21 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by gofaster
"I was shot in the face with a frog."

As sad as the story is, that made me laugh for a good two or three minutes.

Hortlund · « **Reply #13 on:** April 16, 2003, 02:09:57 PM »

I dont get you guys. How the f*ck can you laugh at that story?

I mean when I was a kid, I did oh-so-many stupid things, frankly its a small wonder I survived. Like the really smart idea of cutting the cord to my nightlamp with a pair of scissors (luckily they had plastic handles) or my brilliant idea of playing fireman in the bathroom. Armed with a plastic spray bottle (you know the kind your mom used to water the plants with) I poured out 1/4 gallon of aceton in the zink and lit it...the idea was that fireman Steve would use his little spray bottle and put out the fire. Well, it didnt really work but after using the shower the flames went out, and all that happened was that the zink cracked in two.

ANYWAY...kids do stupid stuff. Its all a part of growing up. When something like this happens it breaks the heart. So frog or no frog, I dont see the humor. I dunno maybe its because I have kids myself.

YMMV

SOB · « **Reply #14 on:** April 16, 2003, 04:30:50 PM »

We can laugh because it happened "over there" and we don't know the kid. If we took a solemn moment every time something bad happened to someone in the world we'd all be depressed and mute.

SOB