Sunday car crash caused by fatal gun shot to driver's thigh

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

According to a press release from the Crawford County Sheriff's Department, on Sunday night, Danny J. Hoag, 23, of Pittsburg, Kan., was driving a 1998 Dodge Durango southbound along the 600 block of South 260th Street north of Frontenac when a 9 mm handgun that he had in his car accidentally discharged, causing the bullet to enter and exit his left thigh. It is believed at this point that Hoag's vehicle exited the road traversing about 260 feet through a nearby ditch and colliding into a tree before coming to a stop in a driveway at that location. According to the press release, the weapon and the bullet in addition to the casing were all recovered at the scene. Preliminary autopsy reports from Frontier Forensics indicated Hoag died of blood loss due to the gunshot wound in his left thigh. Crawford County EMS responded to the scene and transported Hoag to Mt. Carmel Regional Center, at which time he was pronounced dead. The investigation surrounding the wreck is still ongoing, a spokesperson from the Crawford County Sheriff's Department said.