A Texas man was arrested after authorities accused him of pushing his own father off a cliff. According to an arrest affidavit from the Austin Police Department, Gerald McCants, 49, told his father he found a rattlesnake and wanted to show it to him.
The two got into a car and drove about a half a mile before McCants pulled over and lured his father toward the edge of the cliff. He told him the snake was in the area, and they both began to search for it.
While the victim was looking for the snake, McCants snuck up behind his father and shoved him over the edge of the cliff. The 78-year-old tumbled roughly 40 feet down the mountain but managed to survive. As he fell through the rough brush and undergrowth, he told police he could hear his son laughing.
He was taken to the hospital with a large gash on his forehead and multiple cuts and abrasions.
McCants was taken into custody and brought to the Travis County Jail, where he was charged with third-degree felony injury to an elderly person. Officials did not say why McCants pushed his father off the cliff.
Photo: Austin Police Department