Disabled man killed by massive Texas bee attack
Pastor Dale Morgan
September 15, 2007 - 2:04AM
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Disabled man killed by massive Texas bee attack*
By ZACK QUAINTANCE/The Monitor
MISSION — When firefighters arrived, they found a man covered in bees.
“They were on him head to toe,” said Elias Saldivar, the Alton fire
chief. His firefighters pulled the man away, suffering stings on their
faces as they fought off attacks.
“The coat and pants only cover so much,” the chief said of his
firefighters’ protective clothing.
Rescuers separated 57-year-old Paul Lee Campton from the bees, but it
was too late.
Campton, a disabled man who uses a walker, died Thursday at Mission
Regional Medical Center after being stung more than 1,000 times.
The attack happened about 6 p.m. Wednesday at a house just outside
Mission on the south side of 6 Mile Line, just east of Bryan Road.
Authorities said Campton and his brother, Lester Campton, 41, opened the
garage door and were swarmed by as many as 1,000 bees.
Lester Campton escaped to a neighbor’s house and called for help. Alton
firefighters arrived on the scene to find a thick, dark cloud of bees
attacking the men.
As paramedics took Paul Lee Campton to the hospital, the bees followed
after them, stinging emergency workers, Chief Saldivar said. No rescuer
sustained serious injuries.
Paul Lee Campton died at 11:30 p.m. Thursday at Mission Regional Medical
Center. His brother Lester was not seriously hurt.
Pest control workers later destroyed the majority of the bees, and
authorities said they pose no further threat.
The Alton Fire Department has responded to about five less serious
attacks so far this year. Larger cities in the Rio Grande Valley have
also responded to such calls, fire officials said.
Many area cities have taken steps to prepare for these incidents. Alton,
for example, has ordered new, sting-proof clothing, and McAllen equips
rescue workers with bee suits to shield them from stings.
While firefighters won’t remove a hive from your backyard, they urge you
to call if bees pose a mortal threat.
They will spray soap and water at the bees — whatever it takes to drive
them away