Dead Goose Falls From Sky, Sends Waterfowl Hunter To Shock Trauma
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- An experienced hunter is recovering after a goose that was shot and killed fell from the sky and hit the man in Easton, Maryland.
More Baltimore And Maryland News From WJZ
The waterfowl hunter found himself in the crosshairs of his harvest on Thursday -- knocked out cold by a dead goose falling from the sky.
"These birds weigh anywhere from 10 to probably 14 pounds. They can have a wingspan of up to six feet," says Candy Thomson, Maryland Natural Resources Police. "So, if they're 35 yards up in the air, and they're falling 60 feet and they hit you in the head, it's going to definitely cause severe damage."
Maryland Natural Resources Police say the unpredictable scene played out near the Miles River.
A group of hunters had leased private land and took their shots at a flock of geese before sunset. Robert Meilhammer, 51, was severely injured on his head and face.
As hundreds of thousands of geese migrate back north, hunters have flocked to the Eastern Shore, and while accidents are rare, they're not unheard of.
"This morning, one of our really senior commanders said "Oh, yes, it doesn't happen often, but you're a hunter, you're concentrating on what you're shooting at, and you don't see something until it's too late," Thomson said Friday.
Officials say Meilhammer was lucky he wasn't hunting alone as he was carried to the road by fellow hunters and eventually flown to Shock Trauma in Baltimore.
As of Friday night, Meilhammer was in stable condition and still recovering at Shock Trauma.
Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook