DETROIT (Reuters) - A drowsy driver who pulled his sedan to the shoulder of the Ohio Turnpike for a nap accidentally shot himself in the thigh with a pistol he had clutched for protection, police said on Tuesday.

Mahmoud Ajaj, 30, was driving home to Dearborn, Michigan with his wife and two children from a family trip to New York when he pulled to the shoulder on the westbound turnpike early Monday morning, Ohio State Patrol Sgt. Gregory Blake said.

Ajaj, who holds a permit to carry a concealed weapon in Michigan, was near Toledo about two hours from home when he stopped his Chrysler sedan and pulled a 40-caliber Beretta semi-automatic pistol from his glovebox, police said.

The Beretta discharged as Ajaj slept, Blake said. The bullet cut through his left thigh and lodged in the driver’s side door, he said.

“It actually went straight through,” Edwards said of the bullet. “I don’t believe it hit anything vital.”

Ajaj used a cell phone to call for help and drove to the next turnpike exit where he met paramedics. He was treated at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo for the gunshot wound and released the same day, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The incident remains under investigation, but Ajaj was not taken into custody, Blake said. The details will be turned over to Sandusky County prosecutors who will determine whether charges should be filed, he said.