Teen Blinded When Frog Shot From Potato Gun

Houston Chronicle ^ | 4/16/2003 | AP

[Ag88]

Teen blinded when frog shot from potato gun Associated Press

DALLAS - A teenager was blinded after being struck in the face with a frog shot from a so-called "potato gun."

Daniel Benjamin Berry, 17, received the injury after he looked down the barrel of the gun's PVC pipe barrel and was hit in the face by the frog.

"He is going to be blind in both eyes," Daniel's mother, Lisa Berry, said.

Potato guns are made of pipe with one end sealed. A potato is wedged into the open end and a flammable liquid put into a sealed chamber is ignited, launching the object.

Denton County Sheriff's Department spokesman Kevin Patton said the accident occurred about 1 a.m. Sunday when Daniel Berry joined a crowed of teenagers watching the gun be fired.

When it misfired, Daniel Berry looked down the barrel to see what was wrong when the gun went off, Patton said.

"He said it just went off. It was a misfire. It hit him square in the face," Lisa Berry said, adding that her son had broken bones in his face that would require surgery.

Patton said no charges would be filed.

"This is the first incident involving a potato gun that we have had to deal with," he said. "What are you going to do? This was an accident."

Lisa Berry said the accident ruined her son's career dreams.

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

[lepton]

I'm sure there's somebody in your building who'd want to read this article :)

Yep. LOL

[demosthenes the elder]

many thanks

[gwmoore]

Darn, Jen, that is one stooopid bunch of kids...

I'm not sure about a hangfire in a spudgun though, I think there is more to this... Basic safety 101 "never look down a barrel of a projectile device that is loaded (and all "projectile devices" are considered loaded....

However, I keep hearing the words reverberating over and over that one hears during flight training " Stupidity ALWAYS carries the death penalty". could have been true in this case, but he got a semi-reprieve... I feel bad as heck though for this guy. Wanted to be a fighter pilot, all done in a fraction of a second.. I thought losing my medical was bad..Wow!!

that being said, they should give him the purple heart for being shot down by a "Frogger" {ooooooof bad pun} I simply couldn't resist that one....

Keep the Faith for Freedom

Greg

[Jen]

...they should give him the purple heart for being shot down by a "Frogger"

HAHAHAHAHA! That's good. I think there's more to the story too.

Take care FRiend!

[BibChr]

Reminds me of...

Dan

[unculturedbarbarian]

Poor kid, probably did'nt even see it coming!

[k2blader]

Poor kid indeed.

First, he does something really stupid.

Next, he finds out he'll be blind in both eyes.

Last, his mother goes and blabs the story to the Associated Press.

[TaxRelief]

Where do we go from here? Two Boys Hospitalized After Potato Gun Accident In NW MN (another day, another potato gun)

[dglang]

Here you go, everything you need? to know about potato guns:
http://www.spudtech.com/

[freedomlover]

Perhaps the frog lit up his last cigarette.

[DLfromthedesert]

I'm heartbroken for this young man and his mother. They are in my prayers.

[Lancey Howard]

I remember at Twenty-Nine Palms a guy doused a sidewinder (snake) with gasoline and tried to set it on fire. He ended up setting himself on fire instead. They had to med-evac him out. People who torture small animals for fun deserve whatever they get.