Mythbusters’ accident almost kills family
The San Francisco Gate reports that an accidental cannon firing in Dublin, Calif., on Tuesday could have turned tragic. It all happened during an experiment taking place at the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department bomb range, when the Discovery show’s crew shot a homemade cannon at containers of water.
Instead of striking the water, the “cantaloupe-sized” projectile blasted through a cinderblock wall, skimmed a hillside and traveled 700 yards further, where it entered a Tassajara Creek street as kids were returning home from school.
The cannonball shot through the front door of a home on Cassata Place, up the stairs in through a bedroom where a man, woman and child were sleeping.
Displaying just the kind of quirk spotlighted in Mythbusters, inertia carried the projectile through the bedroom wall, crossed a six-lane street, ripped tiles of the roof of a neighbouring house and thumped into a minivan.
“It’s shocking — anything could have happened,” opined Jasbir Gill, who owned the vehicle. He had arrived home a mere 10 minutes earlier with his 13-year-old son, Manvir.
Sergeant J.D Nelson, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, told the paperMythbusters had filmed portions of more than 50 episodes of the documentary series at the bomb disposal range in the past without incident.
The hit series, with hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, debunks rumours and urban myths by using scientific facts, usually with the help of outlandish schemes and explosions.
This isn’t the first time Mythbusters experiments have resulted on damage to private property.The Gate describes a 2007 incident in which a .223-calibre submachine gun bullet fired at Camp Parks Army base in Dublin shattered a window in a neighbouring home.
After news broke Discovery issued a statement saying that all safety proceedures had been followed during the experiement and that it will be reaching out to the victims and their insurers.
"During the testing, a cannonball took an unforeseen bounce from a safety berm. No injuries were reported, but damage was reported in one Dublin home and one parked car," the statement reads. "All proper safety protocol was observed. Beyond Productions is currently assessing the situation and working with those whose property was affected."
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