2024-07-06 07:40:19
A joyful Fourth of July celebration in the US state of South Carolina turned deadly after a man placed a lit firework on his head moments before it exploded, the New York Post reported.
Allen Ray McGrew, 41, was attending a block party in Summerville on Thursday night when the incident occurred, according to the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office. McGrew placed a lit firework on his head, which exploded and inflicted fatal head injuries.
Witnesses described seeing McGrew celebrating Independence Day dressed in a festive Uncle Sam costume. He was dancing and seemed to be in high spirits.
Paige McGrew, the victim’s wife, told the Post and Courier that her husband had been drinking alcohol since 6 pm. She recounted seeing him place the firework on his head, believing it to be a playful act.
“He was holding this firework over his top hat,” Paige McGrew said. “I thought he was just showboating before he set it on the ground. I didn’t realise he had already lit it.”
According to officials, she urged her husband to remove the firework before it ignited, but it detonated before he could react. McGrew was pronounced dead at the scene.
Paige McGrew remembered her husband as a “genuine, good person” who embraced life. “He worked hard,” she said, “and he played hard.”
