20 Craziest 4th of July Accidents Ever
Transcript
00:00"...a rogue firework forces everybody to run for their lives."
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at reported cases of 4th of July celebrations
00:11or preparations that went horribly wrong.
00:13"...another neighbor was setting off illegal fireworks before the blaze took off."
00:19The beginning of a stay-safe campaign.
00:21When handling fireworks, a person's life can change in a literal flash.
00:25In 2017, Aiden Valdez was at a neighborhood block party for the 4th.
00:30One second, the Colorado teenager had a firework in his right hand.
00:34The next, there was a bright spark, and Valdez's ears were ringing.
00:37"...next thing I knew, it blows up, and my ears are ringing, and then everything's white."
00:45Finding his bearings, Valdez realized his ears weren't the worst of his worries.
00:50Valdez lost four fingers on his left hand, as well as his left eye.
00:54He required four surgeries, but Valdez hasn't allowed this loss to hold him back.
00:59Valdez continued to pursue his passion for wrestling, competing in national tournaments.
01:03He became an advocate for firework safety, giving away 1,500 safety glasses.
01:09Valdez also created a coloring book full of safety tips.
01:12"...and I just want to spread the word so it doesn't happen to any other kids."
01:16National Mall Firework Frenzy.
01:18Thousands of fireworks will light the D.C. skies during what's expected to be a breathtaking event.
01:24It doesn't get more patriotic than fireworks in Washington, D.C., but the National Mall
01:29became a war zone in 1987.
01:32Kathy Eldreth was about 60 yards from the fenced-off safety zone when a flame landed
01:37on her blanket.
01:38Putting it out, Eldreth was struck in the back by a fireball the size of a softball.
01:43Eldreth was then helicoptered to the hospital, where she was treated for third-degree burns.
01:47She was one of four in the area who were hospitalized for similar injuries, while 25 more were taken
01:52to the Red Cross.
01:54Moisture in the air likely contributed to these unforeseen accidents.
01:58Over a decade later, there were still reports of children, quote, "...chasing the charred
02:02bits of firework paper that fell in a rain of ash."
02:05And says you'll see the skies rain in gold willows before the rapid-fire grand finale.
02:11A spark goes out too soon.
02:13Fire departments say without a permit, there's still too many dangers.
02:18Before even turning 21, Austin McLeod was married with a son and stepson.
02:23Only a few months after tying the knot with his new wife, McLeod was gearing up for their
02:27Independence Day festivities in the backyard.
02:29Tragically, this was the last holiday the young husband and father would celebrate with
02:33his family.
02:34McLeod planned a fireworks display for their cookout when the explosives unexpectedly went
02:39off, striking him in the head and neck.
02:41The multi-shelled launcher is believed to have malfunctioned.
02:45When McLeod went to check it, his fate was sealed.
02:48An ambulance arrived on the scene, but by the time McLeod arrived at the hospital, he
02:51was gone.
02:52The brightest little light.
02:54The community of Kaysville is in shock following a very serious incident that canceled Fourth
02:59of July events for the city.
03:01From a young age, Marcy Hill was known for spreading cheer, becoming a proud member of
03:06the Patriot Cheer All-Stars in Utah.
03:09As her GoFundMe campaign would state, Marcy passed away doing what she loved, being with
03:14her team.
03:15Hill was reportedly on a float performing with her team during the Kaysville Fourth
03:19of July parade.
03:20While trying to get candy from a trailer, she was pulled under the tires.
03:24Hill was taken to the hospital in critical condition, sadly never recovering.
03:28An investigation found no wrongdoing on behalf of the vehicle's driver or the parade organizers,
03:34but new safety measures were implemented going forward.
03:37Leaving behind her parents and three older brothers, Hill is remembered as quote,
03:41the brightest little light.
03:42I was heartbroken.
03:43I thought it was really just, it was tragic and it was really sad.
03:48Anarchy on 6th Street Bridge.
03:50Now attend scenes of Independence Day chaos on LA's 6th Street Bridge as the celebrating
03:57gets out of control in dangerous ways.
03:59For some, it isn't Fourth of July without illegal fireworks.
04:03But how far is too far?
04:04Wherever the line is, it was definitely crossed in 2023 when a group turned LA's 6th Street
04:09Bridge into the Wild West.
04:12Chaos and carelessness as revelers shot off illegal fireworks, climbed the viaduct's arches,
04:18and sped on the wrong side of the road.
04:21People set off fireworks across the bridge, with one civilian packing what looked like
04:25a homemade rocket launcher.
04:27The chaos didn't end there.
04:29The mob was seen climbing the viaduct's arches while cars drove on the wrong side of the
04:34road.
04:35While many were endangered, there were no reported injuries.
04:38On any other night, this might have attracted the full force of the local authorities.
04:42Being July 4th, though, fires were put out all over LA, making it easier for the bridge
04:47blowout to escalate.
04:49Instant ignition.
04:50What started as a day of celebration.
04:53Everybody's probably having grill outs, families come together.
04:57Quickly turned into a nightmare.
04:59Not all fireworks are the same.
05:01Some are designed to be ignited manually, allowing a person enough time to reach a safe
05:05distance after lighting the fuse.
05:08This is not the kind that came into Brian Simpson's possession.
05:11The 48-year-old Kentucky man got his hands on a commercial-grade firework that was meant
05:16to be set off electronically.
05:18Whether or not Simpson knew this, he made the ill-advised decision to detonate it with
05:22a homemade mortar tube, cutting the wick in half.
05:26Without delay, the firework exploded right in front of Simpson, the injuries proving
05:30fatal.
05:31There's a lot that Simpson could have done differently, but if there's one takeaway
05:35from this cautionary tale, it's to always check the instructions.
05:39Florence Mann is dead after trying to light off a commercial-grade firework in his driveway
05:44at a 4th of July gathering.
05:46Truck explosion.
05:47Blackburn Warner was a junior firefighter that day, just 15 years old, when 680 pounds
05:53of fireworks were accidentally set off inside a truck 30 yards away from him.
05:58You're all familiar with the phrase, the show must go on?
06:02This was easier said than done for Ocracoke Island in 2009.
06:06The community was getting ready for their annual 4th of July fireworks display.
06:10Around 9 a.m., though, the truck carrying the fireworks blew up, claiming the lives
06:15of four workers inside.
06:17A fifth person in the back of the truck managed to escape, albeit with burns on his face and
06:21hands.
06:22Needless to say, there wasn't a fireworks show that night, or the following year, or
06:27the year after that.
06:28Seven years passed until fireworks returned to Ocracoke.
06:32With new laws helping to prevent another tragedy, the island decided to bring back this tradition
06:36in hopes of boosting tourism.
06:38Horn Hope's this year's show will pave the way for future celebrations and help restore
06:42a tradition on the island.
06:44Salute cannon.
06:45Now, this incident happened sometime after 11 p.m. yesterday near the corner of Main
06:50and 160th Street here in Park Township.
06:53Technically, this incident occurred in the late hours of July 3rd, 2023, but those involved
06:58were clearly getting into the 4th of July spirit.
07:01By midnight, the celebration had burst into a disaster.
07:04When authorities arrived at the Park Township neighborhood, houses and cars were damaged,
07:09with fireworks present.
07:10Nine people were injured, and a woman named Janet Daniels lost her life.
07:15Upon further inspection, the authorities realized that commercial fireworks weren't responsible.
07:20An inebriated Anthony John Meyer had lit a salute cannon full of gunpowder.
07:24The explosion damaged several nearby homes and cars.
07:28The cause is still under investigation.
07:30Although his homemade device was only supposed to make a loud boom, it ultimately exploded,
07:35sending metal pieces flying.
07:37While Daniels' death was deemed an accident, Meyer was sentenced to a year in jail with
07:42probation and community service.
07:44If I could go back and reverse it, I would.
07:50Unfortunately, we all have to live with this for the rest of our lives.
07:55A viral boom.
07:57This was not the firework show that anybody expected that night.
08:01And yeah, we talked to the family, and they said that they watched as 4th of July turned
08:06their driveway into a war zone.
08:09Many 4th of July incidents make headlines, but only a handful are captured on camera.
08:14This Nebraska family wasn't looking to go viral when they lit fireworks in their front
08:18yard.
08:19One firework didn't go up as planned, sending sparks flying in all directions.
08:23Just as the situation seemed to defuse, all hell broke loose.
08:27That one firework ignited the other fireworks in a box behind the minivan, sending the family
08:32running from the blast.
08:33Although the Simply Safe Home Security System recorded the whole thing, the family had no
08:38intention of sharing the footage.
08:40Somehow the video wound up on Reddit, spreading like wildfire.
08:44Remaining anonymous, the family informed the press that nobody was injured.
08:48Perhaps even more astonishing?
08:49The minivan is still fully functional.
08:52There was actually no injuries.
08:54Everyone is well.
08:57No property damage.
08:58So yeah, we're lucky.
09:01Shark attack.
09:02Long Island Beach closed to swimmers after a shark sighting.
09:05It's coming right by here.
09:07We like to tell ourselves that Jaws was only a movie, but shark attacks on the Fourth of
09:11July aren't unheard of.
09:13Visiting Fire Island with a couple of friends, Lyudmila Imog took a dip in the shallow waters,
09:18letting out a scream of pain.
09:20Imog felt as if she had been ensnared in a trap.
09:23I screamed to my friends, something is biting me, I felt like I was in a trap, it was holding
09:28onto me.
09:29It wasn't long until Imog realized this trap was the jaws of a shark.
09:33Thankfully, it wasn't a great white.
09:35According to Imog's friends, the beast was between four and five feet long.
09:39The circumstances were alarming nonetheless, but Imog kept her cool.
09:42She was super calm.
09:44This is not what you expect from shark bites, or bites in general.
09:47Reaching into the shark's mouth, she freed herself and returned to shore with minor injuries.
09:52Imog considers herself lucky, especially considering what went down on Amity Island.
09:57The boat blowout.
09:58I saw one of the boats caught on fire, actually I had a co-worker say that one of the boats
10:03was on fire, so I rushed and jumped on the forklift as quick as I could.
10:07Sharks might keep some people out of the water on the Fourth of July, but there's another
10:11dangerous foe we constantly underestimate.
10:13Fireworks.
10:14In 2013, 18 boats were damaged by fire near the Skylaunch Marina on Lake Union, resulting
10:20in $1.5 million worth of damage.
10:23The Seattle Fire Department determined that the blaze stemmed from illegal fireworks,
10:28which were shot off from a hill not too far away from the marina.
10:31The annual fireworks display at Lake Union is typically a lovely sight, but spectators
10:36got more than they bargained for that year.
10:38The only upside is that nobody was killed or seriously injured, with just one firefighter
10:43suffering a minor knee injury.
10:44I gave it a shot, and then I just had to leave it up to the fire department at that point.
10:49No one got hurt, so that was great.
10:50When sparklers attack.
10:51The Fourth of July celebration takes a dangerous turn in Claremont County.
10:56Seven people were hurt, some of them seriously injured.
10:59Sometimes it just takes a tiny little spark to make a big boom.
11:03A group of people in Ohio learned this the hard way one fateful Fourth of July.
11:07As roughly 20 individuals partied inside, several children played outside with sparklers.
11:12When a spark from one of the sparklers landed in a bag full of unused fireworks, a recipe
11:17for disaster was ignited.
11:19The fireworks went off, and a total of seven people were reportedly injured.
11:23One woman was left with serious burns covering half of her body, while the person hurt the
11:27worst was a little girl.
11:29While they recover, investigators are looking into the possibility of charges.
11:34An instant tragedy.
11:35Now, a lot of people in the town of Callis say they're just speechless and in shock and
11:40disbelief.
11:41Whenever fireworks are set off in an unsafe manner, there's a huge risk for injury or
11:45an even worse occurrence.
11:47Tragically, a man named Devon Staples lost his life in a terrible pyrotechnic accident.
11:52He died while setting off fireworks with his friends on the Fourth of July, 2015.
11:56The actor had decided to place a reloadable fireworks mortar tube on top of his head.
12:01Shortly after igniting the firework, Staples died instantly, in what his brother described
12:06as a freak accident.
12:07The terrible incident left his family and friends devastated on what was intended to
12:11be a joyful occasion.
12:13He definitely left the party, that's for sure.
12:17Explosives in Central Park
12:18...investigation into a bizarre explosion in Central Park that seriously injured a young
12:23man from Virginia.
12:25Over the Fourth of July weekend in 2016, college student Connor Golden was climbing down a
12:30rock in Central Park.
12:31As misfortune would have it, the teenage tourist stepped on a handmade, shock-sensitive explosive
12:37that was inside a black plastic bag.
12:39The impact caused the explosive to detonate, blowing off Golden's foot.
12:43The blast was so loud that it interrupted the nearby funeral service for Elie Wiesel,
12:48a Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor.
12:51Golden's left leg was subsequently amputated, although he would walk again with the use
12:56of a prosthetic leg, paid for partially via Kickstarter.
12:59The moral of the story?
13:01Always watch your step, and never leave explosives lying around.
13:05This was an explosive device that was placed, or put in this area, with a specific intent
13:10to harm any individual.
13:12Tragedy on the water
13:13It's a tragedy for us to see something like this happen.
13:16This is probably the worst accident that I've seen in my 11 year...
13:20The fireworks fiasco in Seattle might have ruined boats, but property damage is inconsequential
13:25compared to the loss of a human life.
13:28After a Miami fireworks show wrapped up, tragedy struck the Dinner Key Marina, where three
13:33boats collided in a catastrophic crash.
13:36Twenty-two individuals were involved in the crash, which ultimately claimed the lives
13:40of Andy Garcia, Kelsey Karpiak, Victoria Dempsey, and Jason Soleimani.
13:45In addition to those four fatalities, seven were left injured.
13:49Given the scorching July weather, it's no wonder the sea calls out to many people on
13:53the Fourth of July.
13:54Accidents like this will motivate anybody to stay on dry land, though.
13:58The families of everyone involved with this are still trying to piece together exactly
14:01what happened and what caused this to happen.
14:05Some of them are forced to plan funerals at this time.
14:08Simi Valley fireworks fail
14:10In towns across America, an estimated 14,000 firework shows, with this one north of Los
14:15Angeles suddenly turning terrifying.
14:18When people are messing around with fireworks at home, there's obviously going to be some
14:22risk involved.
14:23When people attend a professional fireworks display open to the public, though, they expect
14:27things to go off without a hitch.
14:29This wasn't the case in Simi Valley, California, where a 2013 fireworks show resulted in a
14:34major Fourth of July fail.
14:36A pyrotechnic shell went off in its mortar tube, causing a chain reaction that sent fireworks
14:42blasting towards an audience of thousands.
14:44The area suddenly turned into a combat zone, leaving dozens injured, although fortunately,
14:50nobody was killed.
14:51Firefighters and medics immediately on the scene, 36 people injured.
14:55The perilous parade
14:57Like fireworks shows, parades are an Independence Day tradition for numerous families.
15:02In 2013, however, the Liberty Fest Fourth of July parade ended tragically for one family.
15:08On a busy street in Edmond, Oklahoma, Quentin Hooper drove afloat with several karate students
15:14on board.
15:15Among the students was Hooper's young son, Aiden, who fell off the flatbed trailer and
15:20was accidentally run over by the float.
15:22"...coach says between the injured player, his panicked teammates, and the people in
15:26the crowd, it was pandemonium as he waited for the ambulance."
15:30A nurse and a police officer performed CPR on Aiden, but he was unfortunately pronounced
15:35dead upon arriving at the hospital.
15:37Following the unspeakable nightmare, Quentin and his wife Susanna have strived to keep
15:42their son's memory alive through the Aiden Hooper Legacy Fund.
15:45"...the coach adds the boy's family wants people to know they don't blame anyone for
15:49what happened."
15:50Long Island car crash
15:52"...tonight, as survivors of the crash recover, police are trying to figure out how this happened."
15:56While the water isn't always the safest place to be on the Fourth of July, the roads aren't
16:00much better.
16:01Speeding down a slippery street in Long Island, Gustave Geyer swerved his 1990 Chevy pickup
16:07truck into another lane.
16:09The truck crashed into a 2014 Nissan Ultima with four adults and a baby boy inside.
16:14"...in a no-passing zone, at what's described as a high rate of speed, above the speed limit."
16:20Thus ensued a fatal collision that not only claimed Geyer's life, but also killed three
16:25of the Ultima's passengers.
16:27The baby, who had a few minor injuries, and his mother, who was left with life-threatening
16:31burns, were the only survivors.
16:34According to reports, Geyer had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit.
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16:54Jesse William Burley
16:56Police identified the victim as Jesse William Burley.
16:59This accident is so brutal and bizarre that it sounds like something out of a Coen Brothers
17:04movie, especially seeing how it took place in Fargo, North Dakota.
17:08According to eyewitnesses, 41-year-old Jesse William Burley walked into the middle of the
17:13streets to set off a 4th of July firework.
17:16He lit it up, a puff of smoke appeared, and then boom.
17:20Resident Chris Hansen immediately rushed to his neighbor's aid, only to find that Burley
17:24had been beheaded.
17:25Hansen later stated that the fireworks came with a warning that read,
17:29"...if found, please report to the U.S. government."
17:32Authorities are not sure if the firework was bought in a store or homemade, but they think
17:37it was some type of mortar style of firework.
17:40If you have any 4th of July safety tips, please share them in the comments.
17:44This is where many spectators were sitting, some suffered burns, others were hit by projectiles
17:48like this.
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