Firecracker Prank Gone Bad

Words and Photos by Rob Meronek

This was almost not funny because Josh Lehman almost died in this accident. Fortunately, he was able to get out in time before this prank gone bad really got ugly. The story I got from Josh was that the kid driving lit a big ass firecracker. The plan was to drive by the Park, throw it out, then speed away. Instead of the thing going out the window, it hit the roof of the car and bounced back in and went under the seat. The driver panicked and jumped out of the car while it was still moving. Josh was in the passenger's seat and had trouble getting out because the door was locked. The firecracker/mini-bomb or whatever it was exploded while he was in the car. His clothes caught on fire and his right leg was burned before he finally got out of the car, after which it went up in flames. Check out some photos below.

Rob

SPoT staff and other spectators watch while the kid who owns the car sits by the moat wondering how he's going to tell his parents that he blew up the car

Right after I took this photo, the gas tank exploded like a scene straight out of a movie

This is the scene as the fire department rolled up

Firemen were finally able to get the fire out