Man hit by stray bullet while riding near Christmas Valley

Lake County Sheriff's Office says case is closed

CHRISTMAS VALLEY, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Willamina man said he was shot by a stray bullet while riding a Polaris Razr side-by-side with friends near the Christmas Valley sand dunes on Saturday.

Scott Beaudry told NewsChannel 21 Monday he was on a "social distancing camping trip"with friends during the weekend. He said the group checked in with the local camp hosts to ensure they were allowed to ride the dunes and were in line with state requirements.

While he was driving the side-by-side, Beaudry said he felt what seemed like a big rock hit him in the chest, and when he looked down, he saw red on his shirt. He said he thought someone had hit him with a paintball and that he felt fine driving afterwards.

“I was just cruising along, and all of a sudden it felt like I got hit by a big rock in the chest," Beaudry said. "I was like, 'Ow, that’s painful,' but I had a full windshield, so it was kind of suspicious to me. So, I just kept driving, didn’t think anything of it.”

The Lake County Sheriff's Office said Beaudry was hit with a stray bullet by someone who had been target-practicing.

LCSO did not provide further details about the person who was practicing target-shooting, but said the case was closed Saturday.

Beaudry said after his friends realized he was bleeding, they called 911. He was flown to St. Charles Bend for treatment.

"They said it was a hollow-point bullet, and it would cause too much damage to get taken out, so they decided to leave it in," Beaudry said.

Beaudry said he does not know how long it will take for him to resume physical activities. He said before the incident, he was working about 55 hours a week as a log truck driver. Now, he is mostly concerned about being able to pay off his medical bills while being unemployed.

One of Beaudry's friends has created a GoFundMe to help Beaudry raise money to cover medical and basic living expenses.

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