Early one morning, police in Florida responded to a report of a hit-and-run accident near a hospital.
Responding officers noticed a damaged red Pontiac Grand Am with airbags deployed.
Officers spoke with the driver who said he lost control and struck a telephone pole.
But one of the passengers in the Pontiac gave a different story…
He told police he had been cleaning his gun on his lap in the front seat of the car when the gun went off and struck his left hand.
Police checked the vehicle and found a bullet hole indicating that a bullet had gone through the car door.
The driver eventually admitted that the gunshot startled him, causing him to lose control of the vehicle.
Police impounded the vehicle and took possession of it for processing evidence.
Now, it’s clear that handling a gun while driving a car is not a good idea.
The men in the car are lucky they didn’t die from a gunshot wound or a car accident.
But what if you’re involved in a car accident and have your gun on your hip at the same time.
For example, what if you are legally carrying your concealed weapon and you must be transported to the hospital after an accident?
Car accidents or medical emergencies are a lot more common than self-defense shootings.
So, what should you do if you are involved in an incident and have your firearm with you?
Tell the police:
If you are involved in a car accident and are being taken to the hospital, ask a police officer if they can take possession of your firearm. Don’t draw the gun or wave it around.
Inform the police if the gun is on your body or in the car. If you are coherent the police might ask a few questions about the weapon.
But they should have no problem documenting the firearm and holding it at the police department until you can pick it up.
They will likely fill out some paperwork regarding the make, model, and serial number.
Before reaching for your firearm, ask the police if they would like to remove it from you or if it’s safe for you to do so. (They will most likely want to remove it)
Work with them to make their job easy and to keep everyone safe.
EMS:
If police aren’t on the scene, you should inform EMS personnel of the firearm.
Tell them where it is if they haven’t already found it.
Now, if your life is in danger, EMS will likely leave the firearm where it is and get you to the hospital.
If they discover the firearm while they are transporting you to the hospital, they will probably take it off your body and hold it in another part of the ambulance.
They will notify police or hospital security when they arrive at the hospital, and they will likely hand over the firearm to police or security for safekeeping.
Tow truck:
If you’re driving when you have a medical emergency there is the possibility of leaving the gun in the car.
If police are unable to take the weapon this could be your best option.
The tow truck company will not want to hold the firearm for you. They will tell you to leave it in the car.
If you can speak, ask the tow truck driver or police to do an inventory of the vehicle.
You want it documented that there is a firearm in the car.
This way, when you go to pick up the car you can show proof that the firearm was in the vehicle.
The fact is, police, EMS, and tow truck drivers deal with weapons in vehicles all the time.
The exact procedures for handling firearms will differ depending on the specific department.
Hopefully, you never find yourself in this situation…
But, if you do, remember to keep your weapon holstered until someone directs what you should do.
Tell first responders as soon as possible that you have a gun.
This will save you the headache of having the gun found later and not knowing exactly who took it for safekeeping.
