At about 3:53 PM Sunday, April 22, 2007, Officers from the Santa Monica Police Department responded to reports of an explosion and fire at the mobile home park located at 1930 Stewart Street.  Upon their arrival, the officers found a male victim with critical injuries near a vehicle which was completely destroyed.  The victim was treated at the scene by Santa Monica Fire Department paramedics and transported to the trauma center at UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, where he later died.  The victim’s name is being withheld, pending notification of his next of kin.

Investigation was conducted at the scene by personnel from the Santa Monica Police Department, Santa Monica Fire Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Arson and Explosives Detail.  The preliminary investigation indicates that the explosion was accidental in nature.  Several compressed gas canisters were apparently stored in the victim’s vehicle.  One of them appears to have leaked a volatile substance within the passenger compartment of the vehicle, which exploded when the victim made entry.  No other persons are known to have received significant injuries.  In addition to the vehicle, the victim’s trailer home and two adjacent trailer homes received significant damage.  The damage to other surrounding structures appears to be limited to broken windows.