KXO RADIO - Niland bees swarm, killing one man and injuring 5 others

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Niland bees swarm, killing one man and injuring 5 others

Todays is : Thursday, 20 November 2008

Written by George Gale
Friday, 19 September 2008
(One man is dead and five firefighters injured in a bee attack)….The bees swarmed at just after 5:00 Thursday evening. Officials say 42-year-old Darren Dragoo of Brawley was riding in his motorized wheelchair, traveling down Mentis Street in Niland when he was attacked by the swarm. Niland and Calipatria Firefighters responded to the emergency call. Three of the firefighters and two civilians trying to assist Dragoo were also stung. They were all taken to Pioneers Memorial Hospital for treatment. One of the firefighters had to be medivac’ed to a larger facility. Deputy Coroner Eric Frazier says Dragoo was stung over 100 times. The man was allergic to bee stings and he died as a result of the attack. The County Health Department says some of the bees were captured and have been sent off for testing. As of today, they do not know what type of been was involved in the attack. They say an investigation is underway to try and determine what provoked the bees to swarm on the man in the first place.