Man is accidentally shot during rabbit hunting trip

Police say a Weber County man was accidentally shot in the chest by one of his hunting buddies in Box Elder County Friday.

The 43-year-old man, two friends and three juveniles were hunting rabbits on a trail near Kelton when the man was accidentally shot, said Box Elder County chief deputy Lynn Yeates.

One of the juveniles was shooting at a rabbit when one of his shots ricocheted and struck the man in the right side of the chest, Yeates said.

The man was shot with a small-caliber rifle, and when his friends called for help about 1:20 p.m., a sheriff's deputy who happened to be close by took less than one minute to arrive.

An ambulance from Park Valley arrived shortly after the deputy, Yeates said, and emergency responders summoned a medical helicopter to take the man to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden.

The man was conscious, alert and stable when he was flown to the hospital, Yeates said. It appears the bullet did not pass through the man's body, he said.