State And Regional

Brown Co. man wakes from medically induced coma after being stung ‘thousands,’ of times by bees

Ripley man and bee stings Photo by: provided by Shawna Carter (WCPO)

RIPLEY — A Ripley man was taken to the emergency room August 26 after he said a swarm of bees stung him, “thousands,” of times, our news partner WCPO in Cincinnati reports.

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Shawna Carter said her son Austin Bellamy, 20, was in a medically induced coma over the weekend at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

He was harnessed up while tree trimming branches when he unknowingly cut into a bee hive, Carter told WCPO.

“He was just covered in bees,” said Carter. “Screaming and yelling, crying for help.”

He tried to hoist himself down but the bees took him over and he could no longer see, and both his grandmother and uncle were also on the ground being attacked by bees, according to WCPO.

“(They) left stingers like an inch long,” she said. “He felt like he was becoming a porcupine. That is how pokey they were.”

The injuries were so bad, Carter said he endured kidney failure, WCPO reports.

She credits a Ripley first responder with saving her son’s life.

“I don’t know how I’m going to ever thank everybody,” Carter said. “Craig is Austin’s angel, he saved his life and means a lot to us.”

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The Ripley Fire Department told her the bees were killer bees, WCPO said.

The family said Bellamy will make a full recovery but will have to say at the hospital a little longer.

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