16-year-old ‘thankful’ to be alive after car part thrown into Halloween bonfire causes explosion

Share Add Us On Google Add as a preferred source on Google PHOENIX ( AZFamily /Gray News) - An Arizona man is facing charges after police say he threw a car part into a Halloween bonfire, causing an explosion that left a 16-year-old girl seriously injured. Jaidynn Penberthy, 16, was seriously injured when Phoenix police say a man threw a car shock absorber into a bonfire during a Halloween party in the desert, causing an explosion. The incident happened around 10:30 p.m. last Friday. Detectives say multiple partygoers were struck by debris, but only Penberthy was seriously injured. Police believe 24-year-old Samuel Wolf Schnee is the man who caused the explosion. Court records show he was booked on three counts of aggravated assault and seven counts of endangerment. ‘Like a scene out of a horror movie’ Ethan Glass, Penberthy’s older brother, said she was standing 10 feet away when the blast knocked her unconscious. “There was a lot of blood,” Glass said. “It was like a scene out of a horror movie.” He said strangers performed lifesaving measures and called family members while Penberthy’s friends drove her for help and called 911. He said one girl helped by giving the 16-year-old a sternum rub to try to get her pulse back. “She said that she lost her pulse for like a minute,” Glass said. Penberthy suffered a broken jaw, multiple facial fractures, missing teeth and burns, according to her brother. “The way the shrapnel, the piece, whatever it was hit her in the face, it struck her almost square in the mouth, nose, side going down kind of side of the face, just all around,” Glass said. The 16-year-old was flown to a burn center and underwent facial reconstruction surgery. She still needs several more operations. “She’s been crying a lot just from being in so much pain, and it’s hard to breathe,” Glass said. Still, he said his sister is “very thankful that she’s alive.” A GoFundMe has been set up to help with Penberthy’s medical expenses. Suspect appears in court Schnee appeared in court early Saturday morning, where state prosecutor Dawn Sauer called his alleged actions “extremely reckless.” She said Schnee admitted to throwing an old shock or strut into the fire. “He claimed that he had drilled holes to release the harmful chemicals, but thus, he knew there were harmful chemicals inside,” Sauer said. Schnee’s attorney, Jerald Schreck, said it had not been confirmed which item caused the explosion and injuries. He also argued that the state could not reasonably identify Schnee as the person who threw the item. However, a judge found probable cause in the case. “There are at least two or three witnesses that do identify the defendant [Schnee] as placing a shock in the fire,” the judge said. The judge said proximate cause, a legal question of whether Schnee’s actions directly led to the injuries, would be an issue for trial. Schreck asked the judge to release Schnee on his own recognizance while Sauer requested a $75,000 bond. “He’s not a danger to the community because he’s been an Eagle Scout, he’s been a lifeguard helping people, he’s been prosocial, he has no criminal history, he’s not a flight risk because his family’s here,” Schreck said. The judge acknowledged that Schnee posed a danger to others at the time of the incident but said she did not believe he poses a danger now and set a bond at $25,000. Court records show Schnee later posted bond and was released. Copyright 2026 KTVK/KPHO via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.