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Dashcam video shows house explode just as Texas officers arrive

Posted at 4:46 PM, Apr 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-18 16:46:09-04

HURST, Texas -- Police in Texas released dashcam video showing a home explosion that injured both residents and the responding officers.

The blast happened April 7 after authorities say 40-year-old Arnulfo Castro lost control of his white 2000 Ford Explorer and crashed into a house, rupturing the gas line.

The homeowner reported the accident, telling a 911 dispatcher that someone was trapped in a bedroom, according to a police report.

As officers walked up to the house at 433 Myrtle Drive in Hurst, the leaking gas ignited, sparking a fiery explosion that sent pieces of the structure flying at them.

The force of the blast lifted the roof off of the walls and blew out most of the back wall, with the residents – a couple and their adult son – still inside, police said.

Officers found the wife severely injured, buried under a pile of debris. They managed to clear the rubble and get all three to area hospitals for treatment. Police say the mother and father suffered serious burn injuries, while the son wasn't as badly hurt.

Officer Travis Hiser was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital. Corporal Ryan Tooker suffered cuts and abrasions while helping extricate the victims; he was also treated and released.

"There was definitely some divine intervention that was reaching down and slowing those vehicles down from making scene and then taking a finger and pushing me away from the house and the path that I went," Hiser told KXAS. "Otherwise, I would have been up on the wall and it would have exploded completely into my face."

Police arrested Castro, who lives nearby, for driving without a license. Castro told investigators that he lost control of the SUV when the brakes failed, according to authorities. Castro was turned over to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being placed on an immigration detainer.

"We are thankful that the victims are stable & expected to recover," the department said in a statement on Twitter Wednesday. "Our hearts go out to them & their family."