acdodd
September 20, 2005, 05:29 PM
I don't even know what to say about this.
AC
PRINEVILLE, Ore. -- A minor traffic accident proved fatal when a motorist's rifle fell from a gun rack and discharged, the authorities said.
Timothy Dhaenens, 18, of Prineville was shot once in the head after his pickup collided with another vehicle while trying to make a left turn.
"It was just a freak thing," said Sgt. Russ Wright of the Crook County Sheriff's Office. "This would have been a no-injury accident if it hadn't been for the gun coming out of the rack."
Wright said Dhaenens was attempting to make a left turn into a private drive Sunday afternoon. He turned the truck into the oncoming lane and struck a vehicle driven David Fillmore, 43, of Bend.
Dhaenens died at the scene when the .22 caliber rifle in his pickup fired. Fillmore was not injured.
Wright said a weapons expert will test the rifle in an attempt to determine what happened.
Wright said the momentum of the turn could have thrown the rifle against the passenger side window, hitting the butt of the firearm and causing it to discharge a round.
Alternatively, the trigger may have caught on one of the hooks on the gun rack as it fell, Wright said.
"When you carry a firearm in a vehicle, the most important things are to be sure it is unloaded and two, that it is secured properly," Wright said. "In this case, the gun wasn't secured, it was loaded and the safety was off."
It is not illegal to carry a loaded firearm in Oregon, but it cannot be concealed without a permit.
According to court records obtained by The Bulletin newspaper of Bend, Dhaenens was cited in February for failing to obey a traffic signal and again in March after an accident involving property damage.
He pleaded guilty in April to failing to perform the duties of a driver. The charge of failing to obey a traffic signal was dismissed.
AC
PRINEVILLE, Ore. -- A minor traffic accident proved fatal when a motorist's rifle fell from a gun rack and discharged, the authorities said.
Timothy Dhaenens, 18, of Prineville was shot once in the head after his pickup collided with another vehicle while trying to make a left turn.
"It was just a freak thing," said Sgt. Russ Wright of the Crook County Sheriff's Office. "This would have been a no-injury accident if it hadn't been for the gun coming out of the rack."
Wright said Dhaenens was attempting to make a left turn into a private drive Sunday afternoon. He turned the truck into the oncoming lane and struck a vehicle driven David Fillmore, 43, of Bend.
Dhaenens died at the scene when the .22 caliber rifle in his pickup fired. Fillmore was not injured.
Wright said a weapons expert will test the rifle in an attempt to determine what happened.
Wright said the momentum of the turn could have thrown the rifle against the passenger side window, hitting the butt of the firearm and causing it to discharge a round.
Alternatively, the trigger may have caught on one of the hooks on the gun rack as it fell, Wright said.
"When you carry a firearm in a vehicle, the most important things are to be sure it is unloaded and two, that it is secured properly," Wright said. "In this case, the gun wasn't secured, it was loaded and the safety was off."
It is not illegal to carry a loaded firearm in Oregon, but it cannot be concealed without a permit.
According to court records obtained by The Bulletin newspaper of Bend, Dhaenens was cited in February for failing to obey a traffic signal and again in March after an accident involving property damage.
He pleaded guilty in April to failing to perform the duties of a driver. The charge of failing to obey a traffic signal was dismissed.