South African Darwin Award

Darwin Awards are given to those individuals who ensure the long-term survival of our species by removing themselves from the gene pool in sublimely stupid fashion. We as South Africans have made some valuable contributions to these honoured awareds.....

(April 1999, South Africa) In South Africa, car-jacking has become popular in recent years. The South African law has lenient provisions for self defence, and allows "lethal action" if someone's personal property is in danger. Citizens are inventive in creating martial security systems for their cars. Poison gas, acid showers, flamethrowers and automatic gunfire are not unknown.

 

One such security system relied upon an airbag installed in the car roof. If a driver sat down without disabling the mechanism, the airbag would inflate and hit the victim atop his head with a force strong enough to render him unconscious.

 

And that is exactly what happened to Pieter Niewoudt, who, armed with a pistol, attempted to steal this vehicle. When the airbag exploded, he thought that someone was shooting at him, and he instinctively fired the pistol twice. Unfortunately for him, his gun was still in his pocket at the time.

 

One bullet hit his knee, and the other lodged in the base of his penis. The consequences of his injuries may include sterility, making him a contender for the 1999 Darwin Award.

(The Darwin Awards, Wendy Northcutt)