NEED TO KNOW
- Steve Daniels was attacked by bees while mowing the lawn near an abandoned building he owned in Austin, Texas, on April 27
- Daniels crashed his car after getting into his vehicle to escape the bees, according to police
- He was taken to the hospital, where he “succumbed to the effects of the bee stings,” said police
A Texas man has died after he was attacked by bees while mowing the lawn.
Steve Daniels, 66, disturbed a beehive as he was mowing by an abandoned building on April 27, according to CNN affiliate KTXS.
The bees suddenly swarmed him and followed him into his car as he tried to escape in the vehicle, causing him to crash in the 700 block of North Lamar St. at around 4:30 p.m. local time, the Eastland County Police stated in a news release on Facebook.
“As officers approached, they observed the driver of the vehicle was being swarmed by bees,” the police said. “Officers immediately evacuated the driver from the area and placed him inside a police vehicle a distance from the initial attack to escape further bee stings.”
Daniels was placed in an ambulance where he “became unresponsive and stopped breathing” as he was being transported to the hospital, according to police. He died in the hospital as a result of the bee stings, per the release.
Cyd Daniels, the man’s wife, told KTAB News that her husband had mowed and cared for the land around their property for many years with no issues or run-ins with bees. “It just felt like they were telling me a story,” she said of being alerted to the tragedy by police. “But he was gone,” she added.
Per the outlet, Daniels — who his wife describes as “a funny, quiet guy who believed in safety first — was attacked by 22,000 bees in the attack.
Concerned local Chrishae Cooper called 911 after seeing Daniels drive into her parents’ front yard while trying to escape the bees, Cleveland 19 News reported.
“I saw a truck right beside the neighborhood … next thing you know, I look down and I hear a loud boom and he’s in my parents’ front yard,” she told the outlet. “…He was trying to still escape from the bees, because he started driving away and he made it onto the street [as] the police finally showed up.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Ring camera footage obtained by Cleveland 19 News shows Cooper calling 911 for help. Daniels’ car is then seen in the background driving across the yard as he appears to have lost control of the vehicle. A police car is later seen rushing to the scene.
Eastland County Police said that they called in a local bee-keeper to help them locate the bee hives and the bee-keeper safely removed the bee hive from the structure, per the release.
Read the full article here
