Bees swarm, sting Okla. man for over 3 hours after fall

Carl Amos was alone when he tried to escape to safety, but he tripped and broke his hip

By Mitchell WillettsThe Charlotte Observer

MAYSVILLE, Okla. — A swarm of enraged bees engulfed an 81-year-old man at his rural Oklahoma home, stinging him all over his body for three hours, his family said.

On Friday, May 26, Carl Amos was mowing his lawn in Maysville — roughly 50 miles south of downtown Oklahoma City — when the attack happened, according to a GoFundMe set up by his family.

At first, it was just a few bees that flew up to Amos while he was on his riding mower. But as he got off to fetch a can of bug spray, more and more found him, his wife told KOKH.

Realizing that the situation was getting out of control, Amos tried to escape to safety, but tripped and broke his hip, the GoFundMe said. With Amos unable to move, the frenzied bees swarmed him, jabbing their stingers everywhere they could — into the skin, through his eyelids, even inside his nose and ears.

"They were going in my hair and going in my ears and in my nose, and I thought I better keep my mouth shut because those bees will be in my mouth," Amos told KFOR from his hospital bed. "I crunched ‘em and then they didn't come out, so I blew and then some of them came out and then I stuck my finger in my nose and pulled them out."

Home alone with a broken hip, Amos had no choice but to endure sting after sting, fighting to survive until help arrived, his family said.

"I said, ‘Dear Lord, I’m going to try to make it but I don't think I can without you,’" he told KFOR.

Workers at a nearby construction company called for help after spotting Amos, who was waving his knee back and forth like an SOS, station KOKH reported.

The workers ran over to help and firefighters arrived soon after and hosed down the bees, according to the outlet.

He was taken to a hospital and underwent hip surgery, the station reported. During the operation, doctors kept finding and removing stingers from his body.

"The hospital has removed over 200 stingers and is still removing them three days later," the family's GoFundMe said. "After all this, he is in good spirits but it will be a long road to recovery. He will require therapy to get back on his feet."