PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — UPDATE: The substance involved in this incident was determined to be chlorine-based.
A man is facing felony charges after a Putnam County deputy was exposed to an unknown chemical substance during a traffic stop on Friday.
The incident happened near Moseley Avenue and St. Johns Avenue Friday afternoon, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.
The deputy exposed to the substance was evaluated and released from the hospital in good condition.
The driver, identified by deputies as 60-year-old Charles Legault, was detained at the scene and booked on Friday night.
Multiple agencies were on the scene Friday, blocking traffic in the area for hours.
The deputy was conducting a search inside Legault's vehicle when an unknown, white chemical powder exploded in his face.
An employee at the Budget Inn located near the scene said she ran outside after hearing a loud noise.
"It was a loud boom," said Amanda Hiatt. "By the time I got out, he [the deputy] had the guy on the hood of his car, putting him in handcuffs," Hiatt said, describing the sound she heard as a gunshot.
Hiatt said soon after, the deputy started coughing and wiping his face.
"He removed his vest which had, I'd seen had some white stuff on it. He looked like he was like, ‘Oh my God, no, get this off me' and he was coughing and that made some other people worried," said Hiatt.
Members of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office and St. Johns County Fire Rescue's Hazardous Materials Team responded to the scene to assist PCSO in collecting and identifying the unknown substance.
"They went to the car, but they never went in it, they never touched anything for almost two hours until hazmat and bomb squad came then checked it," said Haitt. "I watched the robots go over and check the car. They took about two hours to do that."
Legault faces charges of aggravated battery on an officer, possessing explosives and displaying a firearm during a felony offense.