A 64-year-old SeaTac man was injured when homemade fireworks exploded last night (July 4), sending him to Harborview Medical Center with critical injuries.
The Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Bomb Disposal Unit are investigating.
Deputies were called to a house in the 2800 block of S. 138th St. shortly before 11 p.m.. The victim was already in route to HMC with fire department medics.
Deputies were told a 52-year-old resident of the house built a homemade “aerial device” by tying together a bundle of sparklers. He placed the sparklers in a tube, and then into a concrete cinder block to brace it. When the man lit off the “rocket,” it exploded in place, sending pieces of the concrete block in all directions.
The victim was standing about 15 to 20 feet away when the device detonated. He was hit in the head by part of the cinder block, causing a serious head injury, which, according to the fire department, was life-threatening.
Other pieces of the block struck a nearby car, denting the door and breaking the window. The house and the garage door were also hit.
Both men live at the residence, as does the victim’s adult daughter. No one else was injured.
No arrests have yet been made and the investigation is continuing.
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