Posted on 07/08/2009 1:22:54 PM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie
DIBBLE — A 26-year-old man died Sunday from injuries he suffered when he was holding a lit firework a day earlier.
Richard Hines apparently had been drinking Saturday night when he lit the fuse of an artillery shell aerial firework and held the reloadable fiberglass launching tube above his head, McClain County Sheriff Don Hewett said. Instead of launching into the air, the shell exploded and shot out the bottom of the fiberglass tube.
"From what I heard, it exploded on his head, and he lost three fingers and a thumb," Hewett said. "There were several people standing fairly close to him, and they were knocked down from the concussion of the blast."
Hewett said the explosion occurred about 9:50 p.m., when relatives had gathered at Hines' home near Dibble for Fourth of July celebrations.
Hines was taken to the University of Oklahoma Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where he died Sunday.
Hewett said the artillery shell was "not quite like the professional fireworks like you see," but that it was "powerful enough."
"I just can't believe someone would do that," he said. "I mean, it's even dangerous to handle a Roman candle, much less these high-powered mortar rockets."
Famous last words uttered countless times in America:
"Hey! Hold my beer and watch this!"
what a buzzkill
Watch THIS!!!
The drunk fool loaded the shell upside down and it used his head for a backstop. Those 3 inch mortar shells go over 100 feet in the air and explode into a big display. The explosion didn’t kill him but the high velocity shell probably did. These fireworks aren’t toys.
There are two explosive charges. The first goes off between the decorative charge and the ground, in order to launch the decorative charge high into the air. The second is the pretty starburst.
If you hold the tube in your hand, the first charge will simply blow out the bottom of the tube, and the starburst will not go much of anywhere. You do NOT want to be close to one of these starbursts, when it goes off.
The tubes always clearly say that they must be placed on the ground, and that people must move well away. The fuzes are long.
I figure if you want to have a war with these or aim them in various directions you’d best make your own PVC launch tube.
Not unlike a Potato Cannon. Come to think of it I haven’t done that in a while.
The tubes that come with these are made of cardboard, but it’s very strong cardboard, with fibers running around the tube. PVC ought to be strong enough for one of these shells, but it might be too brittle, and I wouldn’t want to be close when I found out.
he lit the fuse of an artillery shell aerial firework and held the reloadable fiberglass launching tube above his head
I think the bottom coming loose is the problem.
That was pretty good.
We had a guy at work die a few years ago when the mortar tube tipped over just before it launched and the shell hit him in the head. They are dangerous.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.