A South Carolina father lost his life on Thursday when he ignited a firework on his head, which subsequently exploded, according to officials and family members.
Allen Ray McGrew, 41, was hosting a fireworks display for his neighbors on the 4th of July and decided to demonstrate by placing a lit firework on his head during a block party in Summerville, local station WCBD reports.
McGrew sustained fatal head injuries after witnesses reported seeing him ignite the large firework and place it on his head around 10:30 p.m., stated the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.
“He was holding this firework over his top hat,” his wife Paige McGrew told the Post and Courier. “I thought he was just showing off before he set it on the ground. I didn’t realize he had already lit it.”
Reports indicated McGrew was dressed as Uncle Sam and had been drinking for hours prior to the incident.
Emergency responders were called to Cottonwood Drive in the Crestwood subdivision at 10:23 p.m. Witnesses informed deputies that a fireworks mishap had caused serious head injuries to a man lying in the road.
Dorchester County Coroner Paul Brouthers confirmed that Allen Ray McGrew had lit a large firework device and placed it on his head, resulting in catastrophic head trauma.
The incident occurred during a neighborhood block party. According to the sheriff’s office report, McGrew’s wife explained that he intended to impress the crowd by placing the firework on his head. Despite attempts by family members to dissuade him, the firework detonated, and McGrew collapsed.
The Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office and Coroner’s Office are conducting an investigation into the tragic event.
