Platte County
Fighting for her life

2004 -- One minute she was watching fireworks, and the next minute, she fell to the ground, struck by something shooting through the air.

Tuesday night, that 4-year-old girl was fighting for her life at Children's Mercy Hospital after the horrible mishap.

The girl, 4, was flown by helicopter to Children's Mercy last night, where she underwent surgery. Tuesday night  she was fighting for her life.

The accident happened during a neighborhood get-together in rural Platte County.   "(My) worst nightmare happened last night," said a neighbor.     About 50 friends and neighbors had gathered to enjoy a cookout and fireworks, including nine of his grandchildren.

It's an annual event, and everyone thought they had done everything right to insure everyone's safety.     The fireworks were pointed away from the crowd.     There was a bucket of water ready in case anything caught fire, and all the little kids, including the 4-year-old were kept back on the porch, more than 200 feet from  where the fireworks were being set off.

"She had her back to the fireworks, and she was standing here when she went down," said a witness.     She said her 5-year-old daughter was standing right next to her when it happened without warning.

"There was no sound, no fire and no smoke. Just all of a sudden the little girl just went straight down, face first on the porch," .     

"It was so scary,"     "When I saw it, I turned my head this way."     She said she knew her daughter could have easily been a victim of the accident.     "It scares me," she said. "It gives me the chills."

What she thought happened was a fireworks barrel just misfired, sending a piece of the wood base flying, hitting the girls face.       Members of the Platte County Sheriff's office and the fire marshal were still investigating.

"I hope this shows everybody that this is, you know, no matter how far away you are, it's not safe. You might think you're safe, but you're not,"

Medical personnel at Children's Mercy said they treated 28 children for fireworks-related injuries during the long 4th of July weekend. They said that was almost double the number they usually saw.

 

Girl, 4, Dies From Fireworks Injury

2004 -- A young girl,  4, was hit in the face by flying debris during an Independence Day celebration Monday. KMBC reported that She was brain dead and was taken off of life support Wednesday.

 Witnesses told KMBC She was with her parents at a friend's home  when part of a mortar's base flew off and struck her.

Adelaide
Soldier in holiday fireworks tragedy

2004 -- A Christmas holiday in Adelaide to see family has ended in tragedy for a young man after fireworks exploded in his face.

The 22-year-old's life support will be turned off at the Flinders Medical Centre this week when recipients of his organs are ready for operations.

His family yesterday made an impassioned plea for people not to play with fireworks in the lead-up to New Year's Eve.

Workplace Services is still investigating the incident, which happened at a mechanic's business on Devon St, Lonsdale, just after 9pm on Thursday.

His uncle said his nephew was celebrating the holiday season with former workmates at the time of the explosion.

It is believed he had been standing on the back of a ute holding a mortar when it exploded into his chin.

"The details are fairly sketchy," his uncle said.

"He sustained some horrific injuries. I heard that it went off when it shouldn't have and he was standing very close." His uncle said his parents and younger sisters were too distraught to talk about the incident. He described the young man, who joined the army two years ago, as a "gifted, caring and funny young man".

"He was back down from his posting in Townsville to visit all his family - he loved them all," his uncle said.

"That's what he was about . . . bringing people together. He lit up the room. He lived life to the fullest and was always in a hurry. Maybe he knew something we didn't."

 

Firework victim ignored warnings

-- Friends pleaded with teenager not to return to the large Chinese-made firework which killed him, an inquest heard. The tube-launched explosive, which should have soared 500 ft into the air, failed to ignite on land, when the 18-year-old tried to light it around 1am, the hearing was told.  He agreed not to return, but minutes later they heard a bang and sparks lit up nearby Road. The teenager, was found dead with massive head wounds, by a man walking his dog two hours later.
Home Office pathologist, who carried out the post mortem examination, said there was no doubt he died from a blast injury and there was nothing to suggest any other person was involved. The Dr. said the teenager, who had consumed little drink and no drugs, was still clutching a lighter in his right hand.

Bakersfield
Man Apologizes For Fireworks Accident
That Killed Innocent Man

2004 -- It wasn't supposed to turn out the way it did. A Fourth of July celebration on Connemara Court in northwest Bakersfield turned into a tragedy when a freak accident killed an innocent man. And Aaron Formella will never forget it. "I just want to say how sorry I am. I'd do anything to take back what happened that night," said Formella, a 20 year-old junior at Cal Poly. Formella and two others, 40 year-old Robert Haenelt and his 18 year-old son Anthony plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of 45 year-old Raymond Reilly. Formella was sentenced to 60 days in jail, three years probation and 200 hours of community service.

Formella says the accident has changed his life and has given him a new outlook on life.

"I'm not the victim in this and I just have to try and realize there's people beside myself that's a lot worse and are suffering a lot worse than I am," said Formella.

At that 4th of July celebration, Formella and the Haenelts constructed a homemade firework by modifying a Picolo Pete firework and lighting it on their street. The device took off striking Reilly and puncturing his heart, lung and pulmonary artery. Reilly bled to death.

Formella says he hasn't spoken with the victim's family, who have filed a lawsuit against the three for wrongful death.

"I can't imagine the pain they're going through right now. I've never lost a parent in a tragic accident...I just want to say how deeply sorry I am for that, and I hope that this turns out ok for them," said Formella.

Fireworks Ignite Inside Car, Killing 1

2004 -- A 23-year-old man was killed and another critically injured when fireworks in the back seat of their car exploded and ignited the car, according to Local 6 News.

Police said ----, 23, and ----, 27, were lighting fireworks and throwing them from their vehicle Monday night while driving in the area of Carver Street in Melbourne, Fla.

 At some point, an ember from a cigarette or one of the lit fireworks fell on the back seat of the car and ignited several other explosives.

 ---- was able to exit the vehicle after running into a light pole at Carver Street and Walker Street. However, ---- was not able to get of the car and sat in the car as it burned.

 Both men were burned over 90 percent of their bodies and transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

 "They actually had to hose him down to treat him," Assistant Fire Chief said.

 He died at the hospital Tuesday morning.

 Officers at the scene said the vehicle had fireworks still shooting from it when they arrived.

 The Toyota car was completely destroyed.

 Possible charges are pending the result of the investigation, according to police.

 

Girl died at the scene

2003 -- In Des Moines, Iowa, a sport utility vehicle caught fire and crashed into a pole as some of its occupants were throwing firecrackers out the windows, police said. One of the firecrackers had apparently blown back into the vehicle, igniting other fireworks.    A witness told police that all the windows were blown out and the interior of the car was immediately engulfed in flames, police said.    "These kids had very little chance to get out of the car, certainly not in one piece," Sgt. said. The girl died at the scene late Tuesday. Four people were in critical condition Wednesday.

Antwerp
Man dies in fireworks explosion
during New Year's celebrations

2004 -- A man has died in Antwerp after a box of fireworks accidentally exploded in his face during New Year's celebrations.

Officials say the 41-year-old from Holland was critically injured during the traditional lighting of fireworks at midnight.

He was in Belgium for a family party.

Teen dies of burns suffered in fireworks accident

2003 -- A 18-year-old, died Wednesday from burns suffered in New Year's Day fireworks accident. He and three others were hurt when a large, mortar-type fireworks device exploded as it was being lit. He had been in critical condition with burns over much of his body.    Two people didn't require hospitalization. Another 18-year-old,  was briefly hospitalized for burns to his forehead.    The explosion remains under investigation by the Cass County Sheriff's Department.

 

Teen killed in Fireworks accident

1998 -- On the evening of July 13, 1998, the victim, age 16, and four juvenile friends, gathered at a friends home.  At approximately 10:30 p.m., they left in a pick-up truck.  They proceeded to a rural area.   According to witnesses, the victim was driving the pick-up.

His four friends were riding in the rear of the PU.  The victim stopped the truck next to a mailbox that he chose at random.  The victim and the owner of the PU exited the vehicle.  The victim handed one of his friends an M60 (explosive firework) and a lighter.  They lit the device and put it in the mailbox.

The victim quickly jumped into the rear of the truck.  The owner of the PU climbed into the truck's cab on the driver's side.  What they did not know, was that the PU was going to stall before they could get away.   This now exposed the people in the rear of the truck to the mailbox.    The mailbox exploded, blowing the door off in the direction of the victim.

Shrapnel from the door cut the victim's throat severing the carotid artery.   Witnesses stated the victim lost massive amounts of blood from the injury.    He was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

 

Black Market

-- There are safe methods of lighting fireworks. There are dangerous methods of lighting fireworks. Two residents of villages in East Java were killed when they chose the latter method of ignition.

Firecrackers are illegal in Indonesia. However, they can be purchased from the black market during celebrations such as Eid Al-Fitr, the feast which marks the end of Ramadan. And boys will be boys, the world over.

In January, a 28-year-old and a 20-year-old obtained a large quantity of firecrackers and connected their detonation fuses to a motorcycle battery. The two perpetrators proceeded to start the engine. The resulting explosion could be heard from a distance of two kilometers.   Onlookers attempted to rescue the men, but their burns were too severe. Both men died at the scene. Eight onlookers were treated at a local hospital for their injuries.

 

The Great American Holiday, 2001
"It got a little scary"

-- Three Pennsylvanians were killed in separate fireworks mishaps on July 4 (in Butler Township, Altoona and Wilkes-Barre).

-- A 21-year-old soldier was shot to death in Huntsville, Ala., early on July 5, allegedly by the man the soldier asked not to launch fireworks nearby.

-- A 46-year-old man was killed in Spanish Fork, Utah, on July 4 when a fireworks stand toppled over and crushed him.

-- A mother and three children were killed in a fire in Houston on July 4 that a relative said was spread by fireworks.

-- An off-duty police officer was beaten and sent to the hospital in critical condition on July 4, allegedly by two men who objected to the officer's request to stop launching fireworks near kids.

 

Tourist died after fireworks exploded on bus

 
-- A British tourist visiting South America died after a box of smuggled fireworks exploded at her feet in an overheated bus, an inquest was told yesterday. The woman was severely burnt in the explosion last year in Peru but had to wait more than 24 hours to get treatment. Only one ambulance reached the bus and would transport only Peruvians who had paid their medical insurance. The woman  who was travelling with her boyfriend, who was also injured, was taken by a local doctor the next day to a clinic 100 miles away in the town of Arequipa. The following week she was flown to Britain with her boyfriend for specialist care at Salisbury District Hospital but died on December 20, a month after the explosion. She had suffered third-degree burns over half her body. The boyfriend, who lived with the woman told the inquest: "I remember a single explosion and everything was black with thick smoke. I could smell gunpowder and see flames leaping from under the seat in front of me. I remember people screaming and trying to beat the flames out. I eventually found her and we climbed out of a window."   The couple, who were combining a holiday with research for a book, were less than three weeks into a ten-week tour of South America when the fireworks detonated in the intense heat and set off more hidden in the luggage hold. They caught the bus in Arica, Chile, on November 24 and had been on board for almost five hours when the fireworks blew up.   The Wiltshire coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful killing and said: "She did not die as a result of an accident - if this had happened in Britain there would have been a prosecution for manslaughter.  It was dangerous and illegal act to transport these sorts of fireworks in this way. She was put at enormous risk of considerable harm, as was her boyfriend."   Her death prompted an investigation by the Peruvian police and customs officials into the illegal trade in fireworks, which are an important source of income for street vendors in the country's capital, Lima. As a result, security checks on long-haul buses were tightened.

Firecracker Christmas celebration
kills six-year-old boy

-- A child was killed and another seriously wounded by an exploding firecracker on Christmas, police said. The six year old boy was killed and three other boys injured when they tried to light a firecracker they found in the street in Catanzaro, in southern Italy. Italy has been trying to crack down on the firework celebrations.

 

Man killed by train

-- A Romanian man has been run over and killed by a train after chasing a gang of firework-throwing children.    The man jumped out of his car at a level crossing near Ramnicu Vulcea after the children threw bangers onto the roof of his new BMW.    After giving up the chase he turned around to cross the track - and was hit by an express train. The 44-year-old man died instantly.

Case Briefs

-- Two girls, 9 and 13 years old, died from smoke inhalation in a mobile home fire in Ellsinore, Missouri that was started by sparks from smoldering fireworks.

-- A 29-year-old man drowned in Fox Lake, Illinois after he blew a hole in the bottom of his boat with a large firecracker.

-- A 56-year-old Connecticut man was launching fireworks out of a plastic tube in Block Island, Rhode Island. He peered inside the tube when one firework failed. The firework went off and struck him in the head.

Delhi
1 dead, 4 injured
Fire-cracker explodes in iron bucket

1998 -- A 10-year-old boy was killed and three others sustained injuries when an iron bucket inside which they had placed a fire-cracker exploded in a Seelampur jhuggi in north-east Delhi this evening. All four were rushed to the GTB Hospital where he was declared dead. Amreen, 6, and Fareen, 3, were playing along with Afsar on the rooftop of their jhuggi. The incident happened at around 6 p.m.. According to DCP (north-east) S.B.K. Singh: ``The children decided to burst a fire-cracker inside a bucket. When the bucket exploded, sharp iron pieces hit the children. Afsar bore the brunt of the impact as he was the one who had lit the cracker.'' Amreen was discharged after first-aid but Fareen who has suffered deep cuts is still in hospital.

The fourth person who was injured in the incident was Najma, 30. A portion of the bucket that exploded hit a brick and the brick reportedly fell on her. Najma was sitting on the rooftop of another jhuggi. Seelampur police have registered a case and are investigating. The jhuggi where the bucket exploded reportedly belongs to Parvesh who is away to Aligarh.

Afsar's father, Abzal said: ``I was away at work. When I came back they told me my son is dead. Now, the police have taken my son for post-mortem. They asked me to stay at home. They will hand over the body tomorrow morning.''

Philippines

2004 -- As Filipinos slept off the revelry of New Year's Eve, police and hospitals reported 18 deaths and hundreds of injuries from firecracker mishaps and stray bullets.

A barrage of noise and light began across the nation of 82 million at dusk on Wednesday, exploding into the early hours of 2004 from backyards, street parties and organised displays.

Despite what police called a peaceful party, fireworks were again the culprit in most of the accidents.

At least 18 people were killed at a market in Lucena City, about 100 km (60 miles) southeast of Manila, when a firecracker vendor set off a massive blaze by testing his wares too close to his storeroom, police said on Thursday.

The death toll may rise as 22 people were missing, they said.

Eleven fires in Manila raced through a home for the disabled, a plastics factory, another market and dozens of houses but caused no serious injuries.

At least 500 people were hurt by exploding firecrackers and 11 wounded by celebratory gunfire, including a 13-year-old girl hit in the arm by a bullet as she watched a fireworks show.

"We're still getting reports from the field but I think the celebration was generally peaceful," Joel Goltiao, a national police senior superintendent, told reporters. "Although the mood was very festive, there were less casualties than we expected."

In the run-up to New Year's Eve, officials urged the public to leave guns at home and take care with fireworks, as newspapers ran photos of hands missing fingers and other grisly injuries.

Even police officers faced scrutiny after eight were arrested last year for firing weapons in the air. This time, tape was put over gun muzzles so commanders could tell who broke the rules.

 

35 Dead, 590 Hurt in New Year's Eve Revelry

-- At least thirty-five people were killed and 590 injured as the Philippines ushered in the New Year with riotous revelry that sparked fires, shootings and accidents, officials and police reports said yesterday.

A thick pall of smoke from exploding firecrackers and burning tires shrouded Metro Manila before dawn amid reports of hundreds of firecracker-related injuries sustained during the revelry.

The deadliest incident linked to the New Year’s Eve celebration was a fire that gutted a firecracker store in Lucena City Wednesday. The toll from that blaze has risen to 19 confirmed dead and two others reported missing.