Man airlifted after shooting himself in leg

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A 68 year-old man from Colfax, Wash., was injured in a hunting accident Saturday morning, according to a news release from the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office.

The man, whose name has not been released, inadvertently shot himself in the lower leg in the area of Fish Creek Road.

The preliminary investigation revealed the man had been hunting elk approximately a half-mile east of Fish Creek Road, according to the release. He was walking in an area where the uneven terrain consisted of a clay-like mud, which made foot travel difficult.

The man slipped while he was walking. When he slipped, the firearm he was carrying discharged, causing a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The man was able to call his hunting partners for help using an FRS radio. Emergency personnel on scene, along with other hunters in the vicinity, were able to help the man to an area where he could be transported to the awaiting Advanced Life Systems ambulance.

The ambulance then transported him to a Life Flight Network helicopter that was standing by at the Tieton emergency airstrip. The helicopter then transported the man to a local hospital.