Somewhere in the quiet town of Covington, Louisiana, Ronald Richard, 68, was going about his daily routine in his tractor, when a sudden pain attacked his heart. Richard found a .45-calibre bullet casing in his sweater, and the bullet itself in his Motorola RAZR mobile phone.

Richard was left with a bruise only, while the phone broke in two pieces, as the bullet hit it at a 45 degree angle. It is unlikely for the thin phone to be a bulletproof replacement, Richard was most probably hit by a bullet of a hunter far from him, otherwise the consequences would have been worse.

"More than likely, if he had been anywhere close to the shooters it would have gone right through the cell phone and killed him. They are likely quite a bit over a mile away. Don’t do away with the bullet proof vests, they are more likely to save your life in a typical scenario than a cell phone. This was a freak accident," commented Kazriko, on St. Tammany News website.

It is not the first time a mobile phone stops a bullet. In May 2007, Aurora, Colorado resident  Roger Baxter was saved by his phone, which stopped a bullet shot by a burglar inside his home.

[via Engadget Mobile, St. Tammany News]