Partner’s arrow kills bowhunter in freak accident

TOUTLE, Wash. – A 50-year-old Kelso man is dead after what authorities are calling a freak bowhunting accident and the first archery hunting fatality since 1995.

The Daily News of Longview reported that Benny White and his hunting partner left their pickup truck about three miles east of Toutle after spotting an elk Friday morning.

Cowlitz County Coroner Tim Davidson said White apparently stopped abruptly, and his partner ran into him from behind. The partner’s arrow was in position in his bow, and it pierced White’s torso.

The partner drove White to meet aid crews, but White was pronounced dead at the scene.