On October 3rd, the News Office received a phone call. Someone was trying to get information about an explosion at a local hotel/motel. The caller didn't have much information at all, but he knew it took place in San Saba, Texas. He had left a message at the police department, but hadn't heard anything yet.
The caller sounded desperate to find out information and said the person injured was a family member. At that time, none of us in the News Office had any information about such an explosion.
A few hours later, at 5:28 p.m. the following is a news release sent to the San Saba News & Star: On Wednesday, September 25, 2024, at approximately 7:29 p.m., San Saba Police responded to an incident in the 1000 block of North High Street.
Upon officers’ arrival, they discovered that an explosion had occurred in one of the motel rooms and significant damage to the room had occurred. A male victim, found at the scene, had burns covering more than 70 percent of his body as well as a broken femur. Following a preliminary investigation, it was determined that the victim had experienced a mental breakdown and attempted to self-harm by starting a fire in his motel room.
The victim, Johnathan Lidster, a 35-year-old male, was transported by Care flight to Dell Seton Medical Center in Austin, TX for treatment of his injuries. Mr. Lidster has a history of mental illness. His next of kin have been notified. Mr. Lidster is currently receiving treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center located on Fort Sam Houston.
'We would like thank the Killeen Hazmat Unit for their assistance in determining the cause of the explosion and their help in handling and disposing of any potentially hazardous materials resulting from this incident. Further, they confirmed that no chemicals were found in the victim’s room and the damage was a result of a “flash-over” a near-simultaneous ignition of the combustible material in the room.' San Saba Police Chief John Bauer.
This investigation, by the San Saba Police Department, remains on-going.
Once I received this news release, I looked up the address and found out it was the Executive Inn on Highway 16. I made a trip over there to get more information and maybe some photos.
I met the property manager. He said everyone just calls him 'PM.'
PM reported he was standing outside when the explosion happened. It happened just a few doors down from where he was standing. According to his report, it was a flash explosion, but there was no fire. He showed me a video he had taken on his phone right after the event. The video showed the man who was injured sitting in the parking lot outside of the room. It also showed a small blowtorch that PM said was used to spark the explosion.
PM noted the front window of the motel room was blown off, but it did not break. He then showed it to me. It had already been cleaned up, and it will be reinstalled. He stated the event happened in the bathroom area. Part of the ceiling above the bathtub had to be replaced and now only needs to be repainted. The wall just above the sink has been repaired and now just needs a new mirror; the old one was broken in the explosion.
The walls inside the room had been touched up and repaired, and they were in the process of being painted when I was there. The carpet had been pulled up as some chemicals spilled onto the carpet during the explosion. The carpet was to be replaced in the next few days.
PM introduced me to Marcus Gonzales, the man he hired to do the work to repair the room and get it ready for renting again. PM said he expects it to be ready early this week.
As noted in the news release above from the San Saba Police Department, this is an ongoing investigation. All questions should be directed to the San Saba Police Department.