Two Guthrie County men have been charged with multiple counts after a hunting accident earlier this month.
According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 21 year-old Robert McCauley was practice shooting with his bow near the intersection of 200th and Elm Avenue with 27 year-old Derrick Johnson, when they saw deer headed in their direction.
The two men pursued the deer in an attempt to hill them with bows and arrows they were each carrying. The pair crossed an alfalfa field to position for a clear shot. McCauley was running ahead of Johnson when he tripped and fell. His head struck the bow above his left eye. Officers believe Johnson then ran into him with an arrow which struck McCauley half way between his left side and spinal cord in his lower back. McCauley stood up and pulled the arrow out, then ran a short distance before collapsing. Friends and family called for help and stood by him until officers and an ambulance arrived. He was transported to the Guthrie County hospital and then transported to another hospital in Des Moines.
Neither McCauley nor Johnson had been through hunter education. They were both cited for no hunting license, no habitat fee paid, spotlighting and no deer tag. Johnson also faces an additional charge of attempting to take deer.