Gardener loses hand after discarded firework explodes in California neighborhood

TORRANCE. Calif. (KTLA) — Home surveillance cameras captured the moment an illegal firework exploded in a California neighborhood, causing severe injury to a gardener who was working in a yard.  

Hector Mayoral and his brother were working on July 8 when he noticed what he thought looked like a golf ball near his work truck, which was parked on the street. When Mayoral picked the object up, thinking it was trash, it immediately exploded.  

The blast took off most of his left hand, burned much of his face and affected his sight.  

“It was gruesome,” said Ken Lucas, whose home surveillance cameras captured the explosion. “There were fingers in the street and a lot of flesh parts in the street.”  

WARNING: Some images below may be disturbing.

Lucas, who lives across the street, heard the explosion from his backyard and ran out to help the gardener.  

“I ran into the garage; I grabbed a strap, and I ran across the street and wrapped it around the gardener’s arm,” he explained.  

It now appears that what looked like a small ball surrounded by other trash was likely a leftover firework from the Fourth of July.  

The victim’s brother, Ernesto Mayoral, said he’s sad that his brother’s life is now changed forever and even his young daughter noticed her uncle had been seriously hurt.  

“Normally, (he) plays around with my daughter and everything,” Ernesto said, “and now he’s not. My daughter is sad, (saying), ‘What’s going on with my uncle?’” 

Mayoral’s family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the cost of the extensive medical expenses.