A man suffered severe injuries and could potentially face legal consequences due to a mishap while handling industrial-grade fireworks during the Fourth of July weekend.
The incident occurred on Sunday (July 2) night in the unincorporated community of Cary, Illinois.
On Sunday, a man was injured by fireworks, prompting a call reporting the incident at approximately 9:15 p.m. local time.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Cary Fire Protection District were alerted and responded to the call.
Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli revealed deputies arrived at the scene to find a critically injured 58-year-old man drifting in and out of consciousness.
Paramedics took the man to the Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry. Afterward, the man was flown by a LifeNet medical helicopter to Advocate Condell Medical Center, which is approximately 20 miles east of Libertyville.
By Monday (June 3), the man, who has not been publicly identified, remained in critical condition.
The investigation discovered that the man had been attending a gathering held at a residence on the 24400 block of Hickory Nut Grove Road in Cary.
He had bought a lot of commercial-grade fireworks but didn’t have the required permit to own or set them off.
During the gathering, the man lit up the fireworks but noticed one did not ignite as planned. He tried to figure out the problem by peering into the tube where the explosive was, but suddenly, it went off and shot up toward his face before exploding.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that fireworks-related injuries cost approximately $100 million annually.
