At 5:52 a.m. this morning, the Williams County Sheriff’s Office received a report of shots fired at the Midtoll Parking Lot, east of State Route 49 and south of US Route 20 in Northwest Township. Two 911 callers stated they could hear a male yelling for help and several shots being fired. One caller advised he could see a man laying on the ground with blood coming from his leg.
Deputies responded and found Terrence Connors (age 69) of Elkhart, Indiana laying on his back in the parking lot with a broken leg. Mr. Connors told deputies that he had been traveling from Vermont and was heading back home to Elkhart, Indiana. He stated he stopped and got out of his 2001 Ford F350 Dually Truck to stretch. Mr. Connors thought he put the vehicle in park, but he did not. When he tried to exit the truck, he fell to the ground. Mr. Connors noticed the dually tires were coming at him. He was able to get out of the way except for his left leg which was crushed by the tires. The pickup truck continued slowly through the parking lot and struck another semi that was parked.
Mr. Connors realized that his left leg was broken and tried to yell for help and shined a small flashlight at the parked semi-trucks, but no one could hear him over the refrigeration units on the semi-trailer.
Mr. Connors who was laying on the wet, cold ground began to chill. He then realized that a semi could pull in and run him over since he could not move. Mr. Connors has a carry conceal weapons license in Alabama and Virginia decided to pull out his Ruger LPC .380 and fired off a single shot in the air, in hopes to get someone’s attention. He stated he fired at least four shots over several minutes, but no one came to help him. Mr. Connors advised he then saw the deputy’s flashing lights coming so he knew someone must have finally called 911.
Deputies arrived on scene and began medical assistance to Mr. Connors until Medics could arrive. Mr. Connors was transported to the Williams County Community Hospital Emergency Room and later transported to the Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
During the deputy’s investigation, it was learned that Mr. Connors fired off six rounds into the air in attempt to obtain help. No charges were filed against Mr. Connors for discharging his firearm. No one else was injured in the incident. The deputies held onto Mr. Connors’ firearm while he received medical attention.
INFORMATION COURTESY OF THE WILLIAMS COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT