N.C. deputy trapped in squad car for 3 hours by swarm of honeybees

[Liberal_in_LA]

(pic from SFGATE.com)


N.C. deputy trapped in squad car for 3 hours by swarm of honeybees

A North Carolina sheriff's deputy was trapped in his squad car for three hours as a swarm of honeybees blanketed the vehicle, WRAL-TV reports.

Wake County sheriff's deputy Brandon Jenkins had answered a report Tuesday in the middle of the night of a disabled truck near Knightdale, N.C., that was pulling a trailer of honeybee hives.

See WTVD's video report above or click here.

The deputy tells The News & Observer that he and a tow truck driver helped load some of the broken boxes of bees back on the truck, but that the bees became active at dawn.

Jenkins, who took refuge in his squad car as the bees swarmed over it, tells WTVD-TV that he had to resort to deadly force when a few of the intruders got inside.

"It was more or less self-defense," he tells WTVD-TV. " There were a couple of bees in my personal space, my comfort zone, and I just wanted to get them out."

Experts from the apiculture department at North Carolina State University eventually ended the standoff by coaxing many of the bees back into boxes for transport, WRAL reports

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/08/nc-deputy-trapped-in-squad-car-for-3-hours-by-swarm-of-honeybees/1

[petronius]

1. Funny! It was nice of him not to just drive off real fast and blow them away

I'm not really scared of bees, but we got chased and stung by just a handful of them recently, and I view them a lot more suspiciously now...

[elleng]

2. 'Similarly,' some years ago, traveling btw Vermont and Jersey Shore,

for summer vacation in the mountains and on the beach, bee-carrying truck accident resulted in HOURS-long delay on a main n/s thorofare. Fortunately we were able to pull over and stop for a bite to eat, and NJ motel kept door open for us!!!

Thanks for the memory!