Antioch Man May Lose Hand After Fireworks Explosion
ANTIOCH (CBS SF) -- An Antioch auto shop worker, who discovered a discarded firework in a Dumpster, suffered severe injuries to his hands when the device exploded, officials said.
The incident took place around 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Gumaro's Auto Repair & Mufflers on 1705 Auto Center Dr.
"The victim located the firework in a Dumpster as it was being brought back inside the garage," a Contra Costa fire official said. "The firework was at the top of the debris pile and the victim decided to light it."
The man's brother-in-law and coworker Juan Luis Bravo Rojo said he told him not to try to set off the device.
"I told him not to do it," Rojo said. "I went to wash my hands and I heard the explosion."
Rojo raced to aid his brother-in-law, slowing the blood flow to his mangled hands.
The 32-year-old man was rushed to a local hospital for treatment. Fire officials said the blast damaged both hands so badly they may need to be amputated.
"This was an extensive injury," the fire official said. "The victim's injury were very traumatic."
Elsewhere, there were two other injuries suffered as the result of fireworks use in the Bay Area.
In Newark, a 28-year-old man lost a finger and part of a second one in an illegal fireworks accident.
Fire Division Chief Bonnie Terra said the incident was reported at 10:05 p.m. in the 5200 block of Dupont Ave. The explosion caused the full amputation
of one of the man's fingers and the partial amputation of another. No other details about the case were immediately available.
San Francisco police were seeking a driver who allegedly threw fireworks at a woman as she was standing on a corner in the city's Panhandle neighborhood.
Officers responded around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday to Fulton Street and Masonic Avenue after learning of an aggravated assault.
The victim, a 20-year-old woman, was standing at the corner when a male driver pulled up in a sedan and threw fireworks at her. The fireworks apparently went off, causing a blast injury to the woman's left foot, according to police.
The driver then sped off, heading east on Fulton Street. The victim was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.