Groundskeeper recounts explosion after running over firework at Petaluma school
Groundskeeper speaks out after running over firework at Petaluma high school
Maintenance worker Juan Carlos Lopez said he was scared and shaking after driving his lawnmower over an illegal firework outside Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, causing an explosion.
Petaluma - Surveillance video captures the moment groundskeeper Juan Carlos Lopez ran over a large illegal firework at a high school in Petaluma.
"I was scared. I was shaking," Lopez said.
Video shows Lopez and his mower lifted off a full five to 10 inches off the ground as a result of the blast. The motive is unknown. It's unclear if it was a prank, but Lopez isn't laughing.
"It was not funny. It probably, someone can get hurt or something. It was a big explosion," he said.
Blast happened during summer break
What we know:
It happened a little after 10 a.m. June 20 near the front entrance of Casa Grande High School. The regular school year had ended two weeks earlier.
Lopez is a maintenance supervisor for Petaluma City Schools. He says he's lucky he wasn't hurt, especially because he was operating a gas-powered mower and had already been mowing lawns on campus that morning for several hours.
His colleague, Miguel Jacuinde had been told by Lopez to mow some grass on the back side of campus that same morning.
"It could have been me," Jacuinde said. "It's kind of scary, you know, because we do this on a daily basis. And then, all of a sudden, this happens, so I guess now, even cutting grass you can end up in the hospital."
Fire official sounds warning
Why you should care:
Assistant Fire Marshal Amy Segui of the Petaluma Fire Department said, "We don't know yet how or why that was obtained.
Segui said firefighters are helping police find the source of the firework, including reviewing surveillance video of the incident, which happened days after a firework exploded in a teenage boy's hand in an unrelated incident.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy here in the city of Petaluma. We don't allow any fireworks, both those that are illegal and those traditionally considered safe and that's because, really, no fireworks are safe," Segui said.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan
The Source: KTVU reporting, Petaluma police and fire
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