A Georgia man lost his leg after trying to recreate a viral video trend, by packing a riding lawn mower with a volatile explosive and shooting.
David Pressley and some friends were in the woods filming the stunt on March 19, using a semi-automatic rifle to take aim at the lawnmower, which had three pounds of Tannerite inside of it.
Cell phone video shows Pressley coming within 43 feet of the lawnmower, just before a bullet pierces the machine causing a massive explosion.
“It blew my leg off,” Pressley is heard yelling, after a piece of the lawn mower severed his leg.
The video shows blood splattered on the cameraman, who calls for an ambulance after realizing what had happened.
Two of Pressley’s friends reportedly fashioned a tourniquet around his leg, put him in a vehicle and drove to the nearest road where they met EMS.
According to a Walton County Police incident report, Pressley “was missing his left leg below the knee.”
The 32-year-old was airlifted to hospital in Atlanta.
Tannerite, a legal explosive, is the brand name of an ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder mixture, which becomes extremely dangerous when shot with a high-velocity bullet.
“We get a lot of calls about Tannerite. It can be extremely dangerous if it is not used correctly,” Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman said.
Police have not charged Pressley, but did release the video as a warning to the public.
“It’s very dangerous, it’s not a toy,” Chapman told Atlanta’s 11Alive. “It’s much more than a firecracker.”
“You’re supposed a hundred yards away per pound of Tannerite,” Chapman added.
The manufacturer recommends using no more than half a pound at one time. But demonstrations using up to 100 pounds at one time have become popular internet videos.
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