An Erie County man was flown to a hospital Wednesday after being struck in the chest by a bullet fired by a member of his hunting party while the group was hunting white-tailed deer on private property in Crawford County.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission reported that a bullet from a .30-06 rifle struck Lawrence S. Pavolko, 58, of Albion in the upper chest at 1:23 p.m. while he and four others were hunting off of Irish Road near the intersection of Middle Road in Cussewago Township. He was wearing fluorescent orange clothing on his head, chest and back at the time of the incident, according to the commission.

He was shot by Nathan S. Pavolko, 28, of Springboro in Crawford County in a line-of-fire shooting, according to the commission.

Of the five people who were hunting together, three were driving deer and the other two were posted at a stationary location. During the drive, a deer was spotted by the furthest driver who shot. Moments later, the victim saw a deer and took a shot. Then, the middle driver presumably saw the same deer and shot. Just after the shot, yelling was heard. It was found that the bullet struck the victim in the upper chest. All four hunters rendered aid until paramedics arrived. The victim was transported via medical helicopter to Hamot Medical Center in Erie. His condition was not known as of Thursday.