An errant cannonball from a botched TV stunt on the US show MythBusters crashed into a family’s bedroom, originating from a bomb range located 600 metres away.
This failed experiment aimed to determine if various projectile types launched from a cannon would match the speed and impact of a steel ball.
Rather than hitting the designated water-filled bins, the cannonball soared over them, broke through a safety wall, and veered off the hill behind it, according to JD Nelson from the Alameda County sheriff’s department in San Francisco Bay, California.
‘It missed the target and took kind of an oddball bounce,’ he commented. ‘It was almost like skipping a rock on a lake.’
The cannonball careened into a home’s front door, traversed through the master bedroom at the back, and ultimately landed in a parked minivan belonging to a neighbor.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and the home’s occupants remained asleep until the debris from the broken drywall fell on top of them.
The show’s co-hosts visited the area to talk with those affected. ‘We are really, really grateful and glad that no one was hurt,’ stated co-host and executive producer Adam Savage.
According to Mr. Nelson, producers have successfully utilized the cannon they constructed at the hillside range over 50 times without any incidents.
Jasbir Gill, the owner of the minivan, recounted, ‘I was in the van just five minutes before this occurred.’
