DELTONA, Fla. – A worker from the city of Deltona was injured when he lit a possibly homemade firework he found while cleaning near a road Monday afternoon.
Officials from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said a city works employee was picking up trash when he found the explosive near Alley 977 and Howland Boulevard at about 1:30 p.m., then he picked it up, lit it and it exploded in his hand. His injuries are severe but not life-threatening.
The victim's partner called 911 to report the accident.
"My partner lit off a firecracker that he saw, that he found, and he's blown his hand apart," the man told a 911 operator.
The man said he used paper towels to cover his partner's wound.
"He's bleeding pretty bad and his finger's missing and everything else," the man said.
Deputies said the explosive was likely homemade and covered in aluminum. The area was evacuated so authorities could conduct a search for any other possible explosives.
Dr. Yolanda Carillo works nearby. She owns A Healing Point Acupunture Center and said she heard a loud noise.
“It was really really, like a really big boom," Carillo said. "They responded very, very quickly. They loaded him up. He had his left arm bandaged from about the elbow to the tip of his fingers."
Nathaniel Garcia said he also heard a loud boom then saw the massive emergency response.
"It was kind of quiet immediately following it but within the next few minutes there were cops and helicopters all over the place," Garcia said. "We were walking on the street and heard a loud explosion like a transformer exploding. And it was really abrupt."
The employee's name has not yet been released by the city of Deltona.