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Firebomb Sets Off 2-Vehicle Crash In San Bernardino

SAN BERNARDINO (CBSLA.com) — Someone threw a Molotov cocktail into a Mercedes near J and Second streets in San Bernardino late Friday night, setting off a two-vehicle crash that sent an SUV into a nearby duplex.

Investigators said the driver of the Mercedes that was firebombed lost control of the car, slamming into the SUV with the force of the impact pushing the latter vehicle into the front of the duplex on Second Street, causing significant damage to the building.

KCAL9's Joy Benedict reported Saturday that nobody was inside the unit that the SUV went into, but the occupants of the other unit were home when one of their walls was knocked down as well.

"I heard a big bang," said Aaron Covarrubia, who lives in that unit. "My house rattled, my mom was startled. We came outside to a fiery inferno of a Mercedes, and a Mercedes that went through the wall."

Covarrubia said there was significant damage to a bedroom in his unit, and while he has renter's insurance, it does not cover the structure and he is concerned that city engineers may force the family out of the home.

The SUV driver went to a hospital with minor injuries, Benedict reported, while the driver of the firebombed car had burns on his arm, and was treated at the scene.

The person who threw the firebomb has not been caught.

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