1 Charged After Firework Injures Woman, Child At Party

LAKE COUNTY, IL – A 28-year-old Woodstock man faces charges after he brought a firework to a party and a woman at the get together, who thought the firework was a candle, sustained a serious hand injury after picking it up and lighting it, police said. The firework exploded in her hand and a child and another adult at the party near Antioch also sustained minor injuries from the blast Saturday night. They were treated by paramedics and released at the scene while the woman, a 30-year-old from Woodstock, was taken to an area hospital for treatment, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office news release.

Authorities have arrested the man who brought the firework, which was red, white and blue and the size of a quarter-stick of dynamite, to the party in the 21800 block of West North Avenue in Antioch Township. Justin R. Kennedy, 28, has been charged with reckless conduct, a class 4 felony; and endangering the life/health of a child, according to the news release. The victim, a 30-year-old Woodstock woman, picked up the firework, thinking it was a candle, and held it in her hand. The firework then exploded causing a serious injury to her hand, authorities said.

(For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Lake County Sheriff’s Office detectives responded to the scene and made notification of the incident to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Kennedy was taken to the Lake County Jail.

Photo via Lake County Sheriff's Office