RIO HONDO — Swarms of bees killed a 90-year-old man after his lawnmower stirred a large hive, Police Chief William Bilokury said Wednesday.
The man was mowing his yard outside the city limits when the lawnmower stirred the nest in an old boat at about 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, he said.
Bilokury said he was not releasing the man’s name, referring questions to the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department, which is handling the case.
On Wednesday, Sheriff Eric Garza could not be reached.
“The guy was covered with thousands of bee stings,” Bilokury said. “He was in the back side of his property mowing the yard. (Bees) don’t like those little motors. The bees are definitely aggravated.”
A police officer helped family members pull the man away from the swarm, a press release stated.
“The officer along with family members attempted to recover the victim but were unable due to the amount of and the aggressive nature of the bees,” the release stated. “The Rio Hondo Fire Department arrived and put on bee suits. Then, utilizing a police truck, recovered the victim.”
Justice of the Peace Jesus Garcia pronounced the man dead at scene, the release stated.
Firefighters tracked the bees to a large hive in an old boat.
“Fire crews conducted a search of the area and discovered a large bee hive in an old boat,” the release stated. “The hive was then mitigated by the fire department.”
Dawn Johnston is owner and operator, with her daughter, Devin, of R9 Hive and Honey in Lyford, which also performs bee removals.
Abandoned boats in the yard are perfect for a bee hive, she said.
“I’ve pulled bees out of boats before,” Johnston said. “They get into the hulls. If it’s a larger fishing boat there’s that little cavity thing and some things like buckets (wells), the only thing I can think of, that are inserts that come in and out and they will go under that between the outer hull and the inner hull.”
Valley Morning Star reporter Rick Kelley contributed to this report.
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