Police determine shooting of Colton woman an unfortunate accident
0 Comments Published by Pioneer Staff on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 at 2:55 PM.
By Abby Sewell
Molalla Pioneer
A Colton man shot his wife in the leg with a pistol in what police determined to be an accident on Sunday morning.
According to the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office report, Joseph Lewis, 37, was preparing to clean a number of firearms in the bedroom of the family’s home on South Shibley Road when one of the guns discharged.
Lewis told the police that his wife Heidi Lewis, 33, handed him a SIG P229 .357-caliber pistol so he could open it.
In the process of trying to clear the pistol, the slide slid forward and the gun went off, hitting Heidi’s leg. The bullet entered her thigh through the rear and exited through the front.
Joseph called 911 at 11:58 a.m. CCSO and Molalla Fire Department personnel responded to the scene. Heidi was taken to Oregon Health Sciences University by LifeFlight, where she underwent surgery for a broken femur bone.
She was in the hospital recovering as of press time.
“It was quite the ordeal,” Heidi said. “My husband felt really bad about it. When the police came, my husband had wrapped my leg in a towel, and it had swelled up to about three times what it normally would be … And then when the police got there, they acted like (Joseph) did something wrong and wouldn’t let him be in the same room with me.”
After interviewing Joseph, Heidi and their two children who were on the scene, the report written by a CCSO deputy concluded, “After talking to all parties involved, we determined this to be an unfortunate accident.”
Heidi said, as regular hunters who are used to handling guns, the accident came as a shock.
“We deal with guns a lot and we had just gone through a hunter safety class with our children, and it was just kind of a crazy fluke,” she said.
Molalla Pioneer
A Colton man shot his wife in the leg with a pistol in what police determined to be an accident on Sunday morning.
According to the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office report, Joseph Lewis, 37, was preparing to clean a number of firearms in the bedroom of the family’s home on South Shibley Road when one of the guns discharged.
Lewis told the police that his wife Heidi Lewis, 33, handed him a SIG P229 .357-caliber pistol so he could open it.
In the process of trying to clear the pistol, the slide slid forward and the gun went off, hitting Heidi’s leg. The bullet entered her thigh through the rear and exited through the front.
Joseph called 911 at 11:58 a.m. CCSO and Molalla Fire Department personnel responded to the scene. Heidi was taken to Oregon Health Sciences University by LifeFlight, where she underwent surgery for a broken femur bone.
She was in the hospital recovering as of press time.
“It was quite the ordeal,” Heidi said. “My husband felt really bad about it. When the police came, my husband had wrapped my leg in a towel, and it had swelled up to about three times what it normally would be … And then when the police got there, they acted like (Joseph) did something wrong and wouldn’t let him be in the same room with me.”
After interviewing Joseph, Heidi and their two children who were on the scene, the report written by a CCSO deputy concluded, “After talking to all parties involved, we determined this to be an unfortunate accident.”
Heidi said, as regular hunters who are used to handling guns, the accident came as a shock.
“We deal with guns a lot and we had just gone through a hunter safety class with our children, and it was just kind of a crazy fluke,” she said.
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