Reportedly Mimicking Stunt, Man Dies After Putting Firework to Head

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A 47-year-old Oakland County man reportedly imitating a stunt he’d seen on a YouTube video is dead after the large mortar firework he held to his head exploded, police said.

The “horrific event,” which occurred about 9:14 p.m. Sunday at a pre-Fourth of July party in the 1500 block of Quinif Drive, “is a reminder that alcohol and fireworks don’t mix,” Walled Lake Police Chief Paul Shakinas told The Oakland Press.

The man, identified as Scott Jeffers, thought the firecracker was unlit when he held it next to his head. The firecracker was the kind that could be dropped into a tube or bottle to light, Shakinas said.

The accident occurred in front of the family of the victim.

“As you can imagine, they are devastated by what occurred,” Shakinas said, according to The Detroit News. “Alcohol was a factor in what happened. We are urging everyone to use caution while using fireworks.”

The man died of blunt-force trauma to the head, the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

Shakinas said no citations would be issued in this case, but police will be enforcing fireworks laws in the days leading up to Saturday’s Independence Day holiday, according to the Detroit Free Press.

In Michigan, consumer fireworks are legal from 8 a.m.-midnight the day before, the day of and the day after major holidays (with the exception of New Year’s Day, when the deadline is 1 a.m.). Find out what consumer fireworks are legal in Michigan and what the law says.

Last year, one person was killed and three others were maimed in Fourth of July fireworks accidents in Michigan.