Motorist killed and passenger wounded when hunter mistook their car for a wild boar

A short-sighted hunter who shot a car driver dead and wounded his passenger after mistaking them for wild pigs is facing 5 years in jail.

Zbigniew Kowalski, 60, from the town of Leczyca in central Poland, had been out hunting in a nearby forest when he spotted the car containing victims Lukasz Nowakowski, 21, who survived, and Josef Kuchar, 23, who later died. Mistaking the car for a wild boar he had let off a volley of shots, hitting Kuchar in the neck and Nowakowski in the chest.
Prosecutor Krzystof Kopania said: "The two men were wounded, but the driver Josef Kuchar, who later died, managed to drive them both to his home where his parents immediately called an ambulance. "But by the time he got to hospital it was too late. We identified the hunter, he was immediately detained and he confirmed that he had mistakenly shot at the car.
"He realized his mistake when the 'wild boar' started its engine and drove off, but because whoever had driven off had clearly been alive he assumed he had missed the vehicle." Kowalsk later said he had not called police as a result and had carried on hunting. It was only when police cars turned up that and he was questioned by officers did he realize he had indeed hit somebody in the car. Police confirmed that he will now be charged with manslaughter.