Santa Rosa Car Explosion Blamed On Mishandled Butane Canisters For Hash Oil
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- An explosion that destroyed a car and damaged several nearby vehicles at a strip mall parking lot in Santa Rosa was blamed on butane canisters used to process hash oil, authorities said.
Santa Rosa police said officers responded at around 1 p.m. Monday to a report of a vehicle explosion at the Guerneville Road Plaza shopping center at Guerneville Road and Range Ave.
Officers found a vehicle destroyed by an explosion with a debris field spreading out over a hundred feet in all directions, with the explosion caused extensive damage to nearby vehicles, police said.
One person was injured, identified as Santa Rosa resident Michael Crawford, who had multiple burns to his face, hands, and chest, police said. He was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police said the investigation determined that Crawford had recently purchased several packs of butane canisters to process hash oil, and that he mishandled the butane while inside of his vehicle, causing the explosion.
Officers also found at least two ounces of methamphetamine in his vehicle, police said. Crawford was medically cleared and later booked into the Sonoma County Jail for felony vandalism and possession of methamphetamine for sales.
No one else was injured in the explosion.
