Woman accidentally shoots self on Indiana Toll Road near Valparaiso

VALPARAISO, Ind. - A 20-year-old woman accidentally shot her leg inside a stalled car last week on the Indiana Toll Road, prompting a nearby state trooper to apply a tourniquet to her.

She was in a Toyota Camry with a flat tire near the Chesterton/Valparaiso exit about 2 a.m. Sept. 29 when a gunshot rang out as a tow operator was preparing the tow the car, Indiana State Police said in a statement.

A nearby state trooper heard the gunfire and found the woman bleeding from her leg, state police said. Three other people were in the car, including an uninjured 1-year-old child sitting next to the woman.

The state trooper applied a tourniquet to the leg of the woman, who was taken to South Bend Memorial Hospital for her serious injury, state police said. She is expected to survive.

Authorities recovered a 9mm handgun, which allegedly belonged to one of the other passengers in the car.

No charges were announced.