Neighbors describe explosion as similar to an earthquake
STEWART STREET An afternoon explosion on Sunday shook a small trailer park community here and claimed the life of a long-time resident and his trusty canine companion.
Santa Monica police officers responded to reports of an explosion at 1930 Stewart St. — the Mountain View Mobile Inn — at 3:53 p.m. to find the charred remains of a brand new Chrysler PT Cruiser.
Lying nearby with critical injuries was 59-year-old James Wright Marshall,who was transported to the trauma center at UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, where he later died.
An autopsy has yet to take place, according to the LA County Coroner’s office.
A subsequent investigation found several compressed gas canisters stored in the PT Cruiser, which was gutted in the blast. Officers believe one of the canisters on the passenger side of the vehicle was leaking and the explosion was sparked once Marshall opened the door, according to Lt. Alex Padilla of the Santa Monica Police Department.
A neighbor who lives just a few trailers away, Chris McLeod, said Marshall was welding in front of his trailer the day before and believes the victim might have left on the valve of a mep gas chamber. The explosion was probably sparked by the dome light when Marshall opened the door, McLeod suggested.
The explosion caused significant damages to Marshall’s trailer home along with two adjacent homes. There were no other serious injuries reported.
Marshall’s Pomeranian, Bear, was found dead at the scene. His other Pomeranian, Tiny Dancer, was transported to the local animal clinic where he was listed in critical condition as of Monday afternoon. The dog is expected to live and will be kept with the Santa Monica Animal Shelter for a minimum of 10 days in case any of Marshall’s family members or those who knew the dog well are interested in adopting the pet, said Officer Darcie Shepherd of the Santa Monica Animal Shelter.
Still, if it appears the Pomeranian is suffering from its injuries and “won’t have an excellent quality of life,” it may be eutha-nized, Shepherd said.
“These are two very well-cared for dogs that the owner, I know for a fact, loved these dogs very much in speaking with him in the past,” Shepherd said.
Neighbors described Marshall, an HVAC specialist, as a man who mostly kept to himself and was dedicated to his dogs, with whom he was often seen walking around the small trailer community off Stewart Street.
Just a few trailers down lives Betty Dorland, who said Marshall had worked on her furnace over the past few years. The victim was always working on cars, she said.
In the aftermath of the explosion, neighbors gathered Monday around a cordoned off area as work crews cleaned out the wreckage from the blast. Neighbors watched while exchanging personal stories of where they were when the explosion occurred.
A resident of the park for 23 years, Phyllis Goff was sitting at her computer when she heard a loud boom and saw the picture frames on her counter and walls fall off from the impact. She immediately thought there was an earthquake until she realized the noise was too loud for an earthquake.
She lives just a few yards away from Marshall’s home.
“It was like they got pulled off,” Goff said, pointing to a wall picture that hung above her toilet.
Hanging out in his trailer on Monday afternoon, Dennis Brusseau said he was taking a nap on Sunday when his eyes snapped open, believing an earthquake was shaking his trailer. It wasn’t until later that he found out there was an explosion and that his neighbor had died.
A resident of Mountain View Mobile Inn for more than 12 years, Brusseau said he did-n’t know Marshall very well and would occasionally wave whenever he saw his neighbor doing laundry.
“I keep to myself and I guess he kept to himself,” Brusseau said.
The explosion could be heard for blocks. Jennifer Karp lives in an apartment complex three blocks away at the corner of Kansas Avenue and 27th Street and said her complex “shook like there was an earthquake.” Car pieces could be found as far as a block away, Karp said.
A resident of the trailer park for two years, McLeod was helping Marshall work on a limousine eight days ago, holding a flashlight overhead as Marshall worked on the car.
“He was one of our characters,” McLeod said. “He annoyed some and was loved by others.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 24, 2007. Read the original PDF.