Town Retires Gas Explosion Victim's Softball Jersey
FIRESTONE, Colo. (CBS4) - It's been nearly a month since the blast that leveled the Martinez family home in Firestone, killing Mark Martinez and his brother-in-law and injuring two others.
Martinez's daughter was surrounded by family and friends on Monday at the Firestone Sports Complex as her dad's jersey was retired by the town's softball league.
Victor Carbajal, who coaches the girl on her softball team, said the community wanted to honored Mark's love of his hometown.
"It was nice to see the town come together and everybody come out," Carbajal said. "He was a big part of it. ... We saw him every day. He worked for the town, so you'd see him around about the town and he was always waving (and saying) 'What's up?'"
Martinez was a volunteer youth softball coach and a strong contributor to the annual Carbon Valley Parks and Recreation District community softball tournament.
All youth teams in the league will be wearing patches on their jerseys this season to honor Martinez.
His wife Erin was seriously hurt in the April 17 explosion, which happened after underground gas leaked into the home. Her family shared good news about her condition, saying she made it through surgery Monday, that she's coping and that she is fighting hard to survive.