Community mourns the loss of manager killed in tire explosion

Diane Shorb has been taking her cars to this Firestone for the last 15 years. When she heard someone had passed away there on Sunday, she was worried.

• RELATED: OSHA takes over investigation of deadly tire explosion at Firestone

“I asked a couple of people on the social media group, ‘Do you know who passed at Firestone?’ When they told me it was Rick, I didn’t want to believe it,” Shorb said.

She was completely shocked when she learned a tire exploded, costing the life of her friend.

“When my husband, passed he asked if I needed anything. When I needed work on my cars he would drop me off at home and pick me up,” she said.

Shorb said his name was Rick Hanson and he was the general manager at Firestone.

Hanson was a father of two and a husband. Shorb reached out to Rick’s daughter.

“I got her number through her business on her website, I shared my condolences,” Shorb said.

According to the report released by the Cape Coral Police Department, an employee was trying to inflate a tire, but it wasn’t working. Instead, it was being over-inflated.

After several warnings not to inflate it anymore, the employee pressed down on the tire with his body weight causing the tire with the rim inside to explode.

“I don’t know if I will go back because there are very many fond memories of him fixing a stupid nail in my tire.”

Junior Sanchez owner of Tire Discount in North Fort Myers was devastated when he heard the news, he shared this Facebook post.

“We don’t know him, but we feel bad. It’s a colleague. Another tire shop just like ours.”