Contrite MythBusters hosts survey damage from errant cannonball
DUBLIN, Calif. — The hosts of the popular Discovery Channel show MythBusters visited a Dublin neighborhood on Wednesday to apologize for the misfired cannonball that rocketed through a home and smashed a minivan window in the area the day before.
View a video report of the damages.
View a slide show of the damage.
Reality television show hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman came to the home to see the damage their cannonball inflicted.
The pair spent several hours investigating the damage and helping to clean up at the house, leaving around 4 p.m. after they promised the homeowners they would take care of the mess.
The hosts told KTVU that cannonball, which was not much bigger than a softball, weighed about 30 pounds and was part of an experiment to see if a cannonball could make it through a castle's walls.
They still don't know exactly how the projectile ended up hundreds of yards from the shooting range where the experiment was being conducted.
"We're deeply sorry for this happening. This is the worst thing I can imagine happening," said Savage. "I have kids of my own. I have a house of my own. I can't imagine how angry I would be."
Earlier in the day, homeowner Hitha Shetty allowed KTVU inside to see where his wife and two-year-old son were napping when the cannonball blasted through their home on Tuesday afternoon and made perfectly round "exit" through their bedroom wall.
"I want to find out exactly what happened," said Shetty. "I want to make sure it doesn't happen again."
When the cannonball was fired from the Alameda County bomb range at Camp Parks, it flew 700 yards in the air before first landing in a driveway and bouncing through Shetty's house and across six lanes of Tassajara Road.
The cannonball's wild trip ended when it eventually slammed through the passenger window of a minivan parked on Tassajara.
Incredibly, no one was hurt. That's the one physics mystery the MythBusters were thankful for.
"We still don't have all the details, but right now there isn't anything sticking out as a smoking gun as the thing that went wrong," said Savage.
Even though the show has performed dozens of experiments at the same bombing range over the years, some neighbors told KTVU they don't want them back.
"If it's not safe, it should not be used," said neighbor Pratima D'Souza. "Somebody's life at stake."
When asked if the mishap was embarrassing, Savage said that the incident brought on far more serious concerns.
"It's a wakeup call. Honestly, the feeling of embarrassment is not something we're indulging in right now," explained Savage.
Instead, the hosts said they're focused on helping the families affected and figuring out what went wrong.
"There will be no cannons fired in this area -- at least by us -- again," said Hyneman.
The hosts of the show also told KTVU they don't plan on including the accident as part of the episode they were shooting for the show.
The sheriff's office said the bomb range is closed until it can finish its own investigation.
