MELBOURNE, Fla. – A fireworks store in West Melbourne went up in flames after a car slammed into the building Monday afternoon.
Troopers said a SUV struck a Toyota pickup along West New Haven Avenue at about 4:15 p.m., causing both vehicles to travel through an intersection and into the parking lot of the nearby Phantom Fireworks store.
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Investigators with Florida Highway Patrol returned to the scene Tuesday to continue gathering evidence. They said examinations of the building, intersection and vehicle involved, as well as eyewitness accounts, are key to their investigation.
“We do have one citizen that has some dash camera of the collision at the intersection,” Lt. Channing Taylor said. “We’ve been looking into that. It hasn’t been too much help right now as to determine what the condition of the driver was because we couldn’t see inside the vehicle at the time.”
Taylor said John Marcano, 53, was in the SUV that struck the pickup twice before crashing into the building, igniting the fireworks within and setting the structure on fire. Investigators said he was found dead at the scene.
“After the impact, the driver of the pickup truck started to proceed forward to pull off to the side of the road to exchange information. The driver struck her again and pushed her through the intersection into the parking lot,” Taylor said.
Troopers told News 6 that Marcano was a father from West Melbourne. They said he was on his way to pick up his children when he crashed. At this point, it’s unclear why the crash happened.
“There will be an autopsy performed. Hopefully, the medical examiner will be able to shed light on that,” Taylor said. “The family was unable to provide any information that would explain what happened.”
Roxana Dominguez, Marcano’s cousin, said Marcano was on his way to pick up his two sons when he was killed.
“He was just a funny and happy guy. He loved his wife, his children. Hard workers, working for the same company for 18 years,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez said Marcano leaves behind a wife and two sons.
“You never know how much time you have left on this earth, if it’s days, weeks or minutes. You got to value every moment you have that you can be with family, and doing things you enjoy,” Dominguez said.
Phantom Fireworks released the following statement on Tuesday about the crash.
Phantom Fireworks statement by Sam Dunne on Scribd
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