Bomb Expert Injured in Gunpowder Explosion
A 14-year-veteran of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department suffered first- and second-degree burns over 10% of his body Tuesday morning while disposing of homemade black gunpowder seized by sheriff’s deputies last week, a spokesman said.
Donald Needham, 39, is a certified bomb specialist who was about to detonate the powder at the sheriff’s disposal site in East County when it exploded, deputies said.
Needham was taken by Life Flight helicopter to the burn center at UC San Diego Medical Center, where officials listed him in fair condition.
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