Video Shows Deadly Cherokee County Home Explosion

<p>New video shows the moment a Cherokee County home exploded, killing one woman.&nbsp;</p>

Thursday, March 1st 2018, 5:54 pm



New video shows the moment a Cherokee County home exploded, killing one woman.

2/3/2018 Related Story: Keys Woman Found Dead After House Explosion

A man is still recovering in the hospital and now that explosion is at the center of a lawsuit.

The scene of the explosion still has quite a bit of debris.

A woman who planned to move in is now suing an electric company she said was there the day it exploded.

Her roommate died and her grandson is dealing with life-threatening injuries.

The explosion caused pieces of the house to fly everywhere and the surveillance camera at a business across the street to shake.

People who were stopped to get gas ran across the street to help. The blast was felt miles away.

"I thought it was an earthquake,” said Cherokee County resident David Ross. 

A lawsuit claims Teague Heating and Electric was negligent in the selection, supervision, and retention of employees responsible for work done at the house.

The lawsuit also said the electric company should have known the house was unsafe.

Marie Deal was about to move in and was at work at the time of the explosion.

Investigators found her roommate, Helen Yost, dead in the rubble and Deal's grandson, 27-year-old Steven Charles "Cricket" Smith is in the hospital with serious injuries.

Stone Sanders is an attorney representing Deal.  He gave News On 6 the surveillance video which he said is a key piece of evidence, showing a Teague employee arriving and leaving on February 2nd.

The video shows the explosion about an hour and a half after that visit. The fire burned for hours afterward.

In a statement, Sanders said: 

We have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the victims, Mr. Steven Charles "Cricket" Smith and Ms. Marie Deal.  This is an extremely tragic situation, which has forever effected many lives.  The chronological timeline of the incident is still under investigation.  This tragedy has resulted in life threatening injuries for Cricket and an unfortunate fatality.  The lawsuit lays out the Plaintiff's position, as well as who we believe is responsible for this extremely violent explosion.  Further information may be provided as the situation progresses.

Teague Heating and Electric’s attorney said in a statement, "There is an in-depth investigation being conducted of the circumstances surrounding the explosion and we will be in contact with the appropriate parties about our conclusions when the investigation is completed”.

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