
Business owner, attorney demand answers from gas company working before Florida City explosion
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Business owner, attorney demand answers from gas company working before Florida City explosion
It’s been one week since 10 people were hurt in an explosion at a Florida City shopping plaza. One business owner is demanding answers from the gas company that was working on the gas line before the incident. Syndy Thelemaque said last Saturday was the grand opening of her dream: her own business. She said she put her life savings into it, and now, a sign is all that she still has.
Syndy Thelemaque said last Saturday was the grand opening of her dream: her own business. She told CBS News Miami that she put her life savings into it. Now, a sign is all that she still has.
“Nothing is left,” Thelemaque said. “I lost everything. Everything.”
She said she called her gas company last Saturday to turn on the gas so she could use her new kitchen. That same morning, an explosion happened, hurting her husband and nine other people in the shopping center, on the day of the grand opening of her new restaurant.
“I even lost a portion of my mental state,” Thelemaque said. “The whole roof collapsed. So I’m pretty sure there’s nothing left.”
Business owners are still trying to get inside their shops to see if anything can be salvaged. But the scene is still closed off, and the cause of the explosion is still under investigation.
Stephanie Ducheine-Welsh, Thelemaque’s attorney, said the gas company is Florigas, and they should be held accountable for the explosion. She said she’s been trying to get a hold of them, and isn’t having any luck, so she said her client may sue them, seeking damages for what happened.
“On their watch, this explosion happened,” Ducheine-Welsh said. “So yes, they have to be deemed responsible.”
Florigas has not responded to a request for comment.
In the meantime, Thelemaque wants to tend to her business. But she is busy watching over her husband, hoping he can recover.
“He has nightmares at night, screaming,” she said. “He was in there with the fires.”
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/business-owner-seeks-accountability-in-florida-city-explosion/