While the country rejoiced in the gradual return to normalcy during Independence Day 2021, there were others who found their fate veered away even more as the fireworks display went beyond control.
The city fire department in Chicago reported a 19-year-old teenager who shed a hand and suffered from serious injuries due to fireworks.
The accident, the Chicago Fire Department said, transpired on the South Side and cautioned the people to “leave fireworks to professional venues.”
Several residences in Austin were turned to ashes on early Monday, with fireworks at fault, according to a report by FOX 7. The station said that a home in the 6900 block of Bethune Avenue near St. John’s and I-35 first caught the fire, spreading to a couple of residences and a vehicle.
A woman in Houston, meanwhile, has incurred critical injuries in the face, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said. Fireworks are still to blame, which was lit in a Kroger parking lot on Highway 6.
The woman’s injuries were serious; thus, she was rushed to get treatment from a hospital downtown, the KPRC-TV said, citing deputies.
A pregnant woman along with her son, 3, was also not spared from fire incidence as they suffered burns due to fireworks during a neighborhood celebration in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
Katie Bihl, the mother, managed to capture the accident through her cell phone. From the video, she can be heard shouting: “It exploded on me!”, her child seen in the background.
The accident due to fireworks even resulted in the death in Novi, Michigan in the person of Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks, who died because of chest trauma, FOX News reported.
According to the police, the firework started to hit people as it was slightly tilted. Lt. Jason Meier said that the victim, who was in a hot tub, attempted to make clear with some people. The fire department was able to rescue Kivlenieks in his home. He was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead.