og video: https://www.reddit.com/r/AbsoluteUnits/s/4St9SyJ9Ku

Sierra Nevada mountain range

When I got out of my vehicle at a smoker's shop, I heard a loud pop and my tire immediately blew out.

At the same moment, I felt a burst of air from the tire and a strange warm sensation on my lower leg. It didn't feel like I'd been shot, and I had no idea I was injured until I hobbled into the store and noticed blood running down my leg.

The ER treated the wound and removed a small metal fragment, but nobody suspected a gunshot wound at the time because we all believed the injury was related to the tire blowout.

Later, I noticed holes through both sides of my jeans and what appeared to be entry and exit holes in the tire. Security footage from the store showed a puff of smoke coming from a vehicle parked outside a nearby gun store at the exact moment I was hit.

Police reviewed higher-quality footage from the gun store and told me the driver accidentally discharged a small-caliber rifle while attempting to eject a chambered round.

The bullet traveled through the vehicle's door, through my leg, through my tire, and through my wheel well before disappearing. The bullet was never recovered.

The strangest part is that for several hours I genuinely believed a tire blowout had caused the injury.

Another detail that surprised me: the driver did not come check on me afterward. He moved his vehicle, got out to inspect the damage to his own car, and then left.

TL;DR: Thought a tire blowout injured my leg. Security footage later revealed I had actually been struck by a bullet from an accidental rifle discharge.

Jack collapsed moments after I noticed it buckling. Had I not noticed, I would be dead or severely injured. Happened 3 or 4 years ago. Was replacing brakes and had to look underneath the vehicle for a few minutes. I'm lucky I noticed.

In the moment I didn't think much of it but looking back on it, it was a very close call, and quite scary.