Multiple serious injuries and deaths caused by fireworks or at viewing events were reported around the country as Americans celebrated July 4 this week.
On Tuesday at a Missouri fireworks supplier a female worker was flown to a hospital after several explosions went off at her factory, according to the Associated Press.
That same day a 21-year-old man in Maryland suffered “catastrophic injuries,” after holding illegal fireworks that went off in his hands, USA Today reported.
At 9 p.m. on Wednesday, firefighters were called to a home in Anaheim, Calif., responding to a large house fire with illegal fireworks as the cause, ABC 7 reported.
Multiple people were injured from lightning during holiday festivities, including an 18-year-old man and a 4-year-old girl who were critically injured from a lightning bolt at a gathering to watch a fireworks display in Illinois, the New York Post reported. The girl was struck directly while the man was impacted by ground shock.
Meanwhile in Western Illinois, two elderly men were killed and several others injured after a branch from a hundred-year-old tree came down on spectators during a fireworks display, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The mayhem continued even after the July 4 festivities wrapped up.
A tent storing fireworks caught fire in Madisonville, Ky., Thursday morning, setting off a string of intense explosions. Police are investigating the incident as arson, CNN reported.
A tent storing fireworks caught fire in Madisonville, Kentucky, early Thursday morning. Police say the incident is being investigated as arson. pic.twitter.com/WQfpvy2MVR
— CNN (@CNN) July 5, 2018
