A Jacksonville man suffered serious burns when his lawn mower hit a gas line and burst into flames.
Jesse Watkins, of J/W Lawns, said he was mowing a client’s lawn on Hamilton Street in Jacksonville on Friday when he hit something.
“I actually stopped, turned around on my mower to see what the noise was and I think that’s how it fried my face,” Watkins said.
Watkins said flames shot into the air and his mower caught on fire.
He called 911 and was rushed to the hospital as Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department firefighters burned off excess gas from the tank.
“The only thing I remember is getting out of the ambulance in Jacksonville on Friday morning. Then I woke up in Gainesville burn center Saturday,” Watkins said.
Watkins was still in the hospital Monday as medical staff treated his burns.
“My face is more of a first-degree burn but my right arm is pretty close to a third-degree burn,” he said.
He said he had mowed that yard regularly for more than a year and never noticed any sign of the underground tank.
“There was no sign. You don’t even see a pipe or nothing there. I didn’t see nothing,” Watkins said.
Watkins was expecting to be released from the hospital Monday but said he can’t return to work because he can’t be in direct sunlight for up to a year.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I’m dead broke. I can’t work. I have no money to pay my bills or buy food. They’re releasing me today and I don’t even have money for my prescription,” Watkins said.
He said he’s thankful to be alive, and wants other people to be careful.
“Check your yards out real good. Not just the yard itself, but look and see if there’s anything sticking up out of the ground, even if it’s just a half inch,” he said.