Reports out of Mooresville, North Carolina, following the explosion at the house of former Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley revealed on Tuesday that the deceased victim in the explosion was Farley’s father Robert.
The explosion at the Lake Norman home resulted in one death and one injury, according to Director of Fire Services and Emergency Management for Iredell Kent Greene. A report from Queen City News confirmed that the two victims are male, but the identities of the two victims were initially kept under wraps until the authorities could alert families.
Neither victim was the Tennessee Titans cornerback, the owner of the house. Reporters saw Caleb Farley at the scene with family on Tuesday speaking with authorities.
The injured male was seen exiting the property as the first emergency crews arrived at the scene. According to Greene, he was transported to Atrium Health CMC with non-life-threatening injuries.
Photos from the scene show the house, located at 292 Barber Loop in Mooresville, completely leveled.
The explosion triggered responses from multiple county authorities including the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office, Troutman Fire, Mooresville Fire, Lake Norman Fire, and Dominion Energy.
Witnesses report smelling gas at scene of explosion
According to the reporting on-scene, neighbors in the area told QCN they heard “a loud explosion” and smelled gas. Some also said Farley has lived in the house for less than a year.
“A loud boom, about five minutes to midnight,” Clay Wild, who was out for a morning walk, told Queen City News. “A gorgeous house, in all respects, I can’t believe it.”
Queen City News also observed some Mooresville ladder trucks and EMS vehicles leaving the scene around 7 a.m. Tuesday while NC State Bureau of Investigation and ATF agents remained at the scene.
Farley’s house, a 6,391 square-foot home, had natural gas and was built in 2016, according to public records.
A standout at Virginia Tech, Farley went in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft to the Tennessee Titans. He grew up around the Mooresville area, going to high school at Maiden. This season, Farley began training camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list due to a back injury. He has 14 tackles in his career so far in 12 games played for Tennessee. At Virginia Tech, he had two interceptions as a redshirt freshman, then added four more in 2019.
Unfortunately for the former Hokie, his career has been riddled with injuries. Farley has undergone three back surgeries since he began playing college football and also has had two ACL surgeries. His most recent back injury, a herniated disc, occurred in November.
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