[url=]http://www.syracuse.com/news/syrnewspapers/index.ssf?/newsstories/20020219_ankuyk.html[/url]

Note that he had his child and girlfriend in the car [V]


Rescuer or reckless, he tells why he chased

Tuesday, February 19, 2002

By Chris Iven


The bullet sliced through Bill Kuykendall's windshield, fingers and steering wheel and slammed into his chest before he heard the sound of the rifle that shot it.

"All of a sudden, I heard the glass break, and then I heard the shot," Kuykendall said. "I didn't have time to react."

Kuykendall, 22, of Hannibal, came within inches of death Wednesday afternoon, shot by a man who had just robbed the Community Bank in Hannibal at gunpoint, Oswego County Sheriff Reuel Todd said. Kuykendall, with his girlfriend and their 3-month-old son in the car, had been chasing the getaway car.

Todd and many others have called him a hero. Some have called him reckless, Kuykendall said in an interview Monday.

Kuykendall said he's not sure who's right - but he might have acted differently if he had realized the bank robber had a rifle.

"I didn't know it was a gun until I came up over the hill and he was aiming it at me," Kuykendall said. "I didn't know it was a gun until my fingers were gone."

When Kuykendall and his girlfriend, Erica Cook, left their

house Wednesday afternoon, they had planned to leave their son, Seth, with Kuykendall's mother in Parish and then spend the day together. Kuykendall, who had just started a job as a janitor less than a week before, had the day off.

As they reached Hannibal's village center about 1:30 p.m., Kuykendall saw a man wearing a black ski mask heading into Community Bank. The man appeared to be carrying bags and some kind of bat, Kuykendall said.

Deputies say the bags were pillow cases, soon to be filled with cash; the weapon a high-powered rifle with a telescopic sight. The gunman was Robert Ferens, deputies said, while Michael P. Earl drove the getaway car.

Within four hours, police had arrested Ferens and Earl, both 19, at their home, 160 W. First St., Fulton. Each was charged with robbery and attempted murder, both felonies.

When Kuykendall realized he was watching a bank robbery, he parked his blue Ford Thunderbird in the parking lot across the street.

Kuykendall said he planned to get the license plate of the gold getaway car and then call police - nothing more.

"I just thought it was the right thing to do," Kuykendall said. "I figured, if I could get a plate number, it would be a lot easier for the police to find" the car.

But the car didn't have a front license plate and he couldn't see the back of the car. He said he and Cook saw the gunman flee the bank about 30 to 45 seconds after he had entered and jump into the getaway car, which was already speeding up. Kuykendall said he and Cook still didn't realize the masked man's weapon was a rifle.

"Once they pulled out, she said, 'Follow them,' " Kuykendall said. "I was planning on it anyway."

After the gold car sped northeast on Oswego Street, two other cars turned onto the road, Kuykendall said.

Kuykendall's car hit 60 mph in a 30-mph zone. He crossed double-yellow lines as he passed the two cars. He was gaining on the gold car.

As he came up above the top of a hill, he saw the gold car's brake lights go on.

"Erica shouted, 'Honey, honey,' " Kuykendall said. "The gun was already aimed."

Kuykendall slammed on the brakes, locking them. The cars were less than 100 yards apart as he skidded to a halt.

Kuykendall dove to his right as his windshield broke. The bullet hit the steering wheel and his left hand.

"It was instant numbness," Kuykendall said. "I saw one of my fingers - I watched it flop onto the shifter handle and onto the floorboard. The other was just hanging."

The Thunderbird was just a few feet from the house where one of Cook's friends lives, so Kuykendall pulled into the woman's driveway. He looked to the road to make sure the suspect car had driven off.

"I didn't know if they were going to come back and finish me off or what," Kuykendall said.

Cook ran inside for help.

Kuykendall was bleeding heavily from his hand and two chest wounds caused by flying steering wheel debris, but he couldn't get out yet.

Because the interior door handle on his car doesn't work, Kuykendall said he had to put his keys back in the ignition, lower his power windows, and reach outside with his good hand to lift the exterior handle. He then ran inside.

Because Cook's friend didn't have a telephone, the two women ran to call 911 from a neighbor's house, Kuykendall said. Alone, he ran cold water on what was left of his left hand. His ring finger was damaged beyond repair; his pinkie still in the car.

"I'm just freaking out," Kuykendall said. "I was doing a lot of screaming."

Soon, a man from across the street arrived. He used his belt as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding from Kuykendall's hand.

Meanwhile, Cook got the couple's son out of his car seat.

With police and emergency workers arriving, Kuykendall said he noticed a burning sensation in the left part of his chest. He tapped it repeatedly. Later, he learned that most of the bullet had lodged there.

"My girlfriend said she could still see the end of the bullet," Kuykendall said.

Doctors were unable to re-attach his two fingers. They told him that he will learn to work without the fingers and that he would be able to return to his new job in a few months. His new employer has said he will have a job when he returns.

Until then, Kuykendall has medical bills and other expenses to consider. He has no health insurance.

Still, he's thankful he and his loved ones are safe.

"I'm thinking that I'm lucky," he said. "I try not to think much about it. ... It's kind of scary."

Yeah I can't see chasing bank robbers under any circumstances, but what got my attention was

1. How did this guy mistake a scoped rifle for a bat?

2. I heard that the round hit his fingers on the steering wheel, cut 'em off,went throught the steering wheel and was apparently slowed down enough that it lodged in his chest with the end of the bullet sticking out of him. If it weren't for the feak chance of the bullet hitting the steering wheel this kid would be dead instead of missing two fingers.