Man Dies After Shooting Fireworks From Head

[MrsAxilla]

Dude.

Man Dies After Attempting to Shoot Fireworks From Top of Head

CALAIS, Maine (AP) — A young man who was drinking and celebrating the Fourth of July tried to launch a firework off the top of his head, fatally injuring himself, authorities said Sunday.

Devon Staples and his friends had been drinking and setting off fireworks Saturday night in the backyard of a friend’s home in the small eastern Maine city of Calais, said Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety. Staples, 22, of Calais, placed a fireworks mortar tube on his head and set it off, he said.

The firework exploded, killing Staples instantly, McCausland said.

His death is the first fireworks fatality in Maine since the state legalized fireworks on Jan. 1, 2012, authorities said.

Calais is on the Canadian border near New Brunswick.

State fire marshals were also investigating several other Fourth of July fireworks accidents involving injuries in Friendship, Jefferson, Lebanon and Woodstock. They said most of the accidents involved burns and eye injuries. McCausland said further details were expected to be released later Sunday.

In 2011, lawmakers voted to repeal a 1949 law banning fireworks, reasoning the industry would create jobs and generate additional revenue.

www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/07/05/man-dies-after-attempting-to-shoot-fireworks-from-top-of-head/

[sushi]

Darwin had something to say about this

[gpw]

Sounds like a Darwin award nominee.

[pixy0stix]

When DH told me earlier my first comment was, "Darwin wins again!"

[josieposy]

A young man who was drinking.....

*stopped reading*

[iammalcolmx]

Well at least he went quickly?

[anonymous]

He was clearly competing with the guy from Texas who jumped into the alligator pond www.cnn.com/2015/07/04/us/texas-alligator-attack/index.html

[iammalcolmx]

Jul 5, 2015 18:59:36 GMT -5 anonymous said:

He was clearly competing with the guy from Texas who jumped into the alligator pond www.cnn.com/2015/07/04/us/texas-alligator-attack/index.html

[IIOY]

[ttt]

So it turns out lighting an explosive device on your head is a bad idea. Who knew?

[iammalcolmx]

Jul 5, 2015 19:04:19 GMT -5 ttt said:

So it turns out lighting an explosive device on your head is a bad idea. Who knew?

You know what........

[ttt]

Jul 5, 2015 18:59:36 GMT -5 anonymous said:

He was clearly competing with the guy from Texas who jumped into the alligator pond www.cnn.com/2015/07/04/us/texas-alligator-attack/index.html

Study: Alligators Dangerous No Matter How Drunk You Are

[lg28]

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

[ttt]

Jul 5, 2015 18:59:36 GMT -5 anonymous said:

He was clearly competing with the guy from Texas who jumped into the alligator pond www.cnn.com/2015/07/04/us/texas-alligator-attack/index.html

I know I'm on the hell train for this, but if you were casting a movie and the character was a guy who yells "**** the alligators!," jumps into an alligator pond and immediately gets eaten, this is exactly who you would cast. 


www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3148522/Man-killed-Texas-alligator-attack-late-night-swim.html

[ttt]

Looking Back On My Life, I Guess My Biggest Regret Is Trying To Fight That Alligator 5 Minutes Ago

[EloiseWeenie]

Good lord. Could you imagine watching your friend's head explode?

[twotrue]

Stupid stunts like this is what terrifies me about having sons. Boys do really stupid things.

Sent from my SM-G900V using proboards

[blink]

Well...what did he think would happen? Even in Looney Toons the fireworks explode leaving the coyote scorched/exploded.

[gibbinator]

Jul 5, 2015 19:31:59 GMT -5 twotrue said:

Stupid stunts like this is what terrifies me about having sons. Boys do really stupid things.

Sent from my SM-G900V using proboards

RIGHT?!?! Ack.

[LoveTrains]

This is sad. It's a small economically depressed town on the Canadian border.

[ttt]

And of COURSE alligator guys family has set up a GoFundMe page, saying only that he "tragically passed before his time."

[shell403b]

Who. Does. This. ?

How can I, a human, be part of the same species as another (supposed, alleged) human who does this?

[Deleted]

Too soon?

[sfy]

Jul 5, 2015 19:15:08 GMT -5 ttt said:

Jul 5, 2015 18:59:36 GMT -5 anonymous said:

He was clearly competing with the guy from Texas who jumped into the alligator pond www.cnn.com/2015/07/04/us/texas-alligator-attack/index.html

I know I'm on the hell train for this, but if you were casting a movie and the character was a guy who yells "**** the alligators!," jumps into an alligator pond and immediately gets eaten, this is exactly who you would cast. 


www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3148522/Man-killed-Texas-alligator-attack-late-night-swim.html

The craziest thing in this whole thread is that this guy is 28.

[UMaineTeach]

This is one story where the comments section is swaying my opinion a little. I agree with them, in a way, that people shouldn't make negative public comments about a man they don't know.

But, it was a really dumb idea.

I want to know how drunk an entire group of people have to be to have no one stop this shit? I also wonder on some level if it was a suicide, if he intended to die. I can't reconcile drunk + fireworks = wouldn't it be cool if I shot this off my head. but, I'm a sleepy drunk. I'd be passed out long before I thought to do this.

"Update" (that's what they say, but it doesn't give much more detail)

wabi.tv/2015/07/04/update-man-killed-in-calais-firework-accident/

UPDATE: Man Killed In Calais Firework Accident
Jul 4, 201510:48 PM EDT
Michael Campbell

A fireworks accident at a house party in Calais killed 22-year-old Devon Staples Saturday night.

“Happy. He was fun to be around. Definitely life of the party that’s for sure,” said Kayleb Moses, a friend that was with Staples Saturday night.

They were enjoying a house party in Calais, when things took a turn for the worst. Moses said he and his girlfriend left the party just before it happened.

“She said it felt like somebody was pushing her. She thinks it was her great grandfather watching over her,” said Moses of his girlfriend.

Staples died around 10 p.m. Saturday after state police say he set a firework off on the top of his head. The explosion killed him instantly.

“We do have an ordinance that we follow in Calais and that’s not just for the use thereof, as far as when you can and the situations around it. But outside of that, it’s on the consumer. They have to be very careful,” said Robert Posick, the Calais fire chief.

Police say Staples was drinking at a friends’ house on South Street.

“There’s a reason why it goes ‘boom.’ It’s not just a benign piece of fun. It’s truly dangerous and it does go ‘boom,’ unfortunately,” said Posick.

Moses said the world is losing a smart, kind young man. He remembers years ago, when he first met the Staples family.

“Playing air soft when we were younger. I was probably 7 or 8 when I first moved here, and they were my first friends on this street,” said Moses.

This is the first fireworks-related death since fireworks became legal in Maine three years ago.

[karinothing]

From the other article i read it sounded some what accidental. He seemed like s good guy in the other article and his poor brother had to witness it :-(

m.nydailynews.com/news/crime/maine-man-dies-launching-firework-top-head-article-1.2282157?utm_content=buffer1d3a0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=NYDN+Facebook

[ttt]

Jul 6, 2015 5:39:41 GMT -5 karinothing said:

From the other article i read it sounded some what accidental. He seemed like s good guy in the other article and his poor brother had to witness it

m.nydailynews.com/news/crime/maine-man-dies-launching-firework-top-head-article-1.2282157?utm_content=buffer1d3a0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=NYDN+Facebook

The question is still unanswered: why was the firework on his head???

He sounds like he was a nice guy but this was 100% preventable.

[jeaniebueller]

Jul 6, 2015 5:39:41 GMT -5 karinothing said:

From the other article i read it sounded some what accidental. He seemed like s good guy in the other article and his poor brother had to witness it

m.nydailynews.com/news/crime/maine-man-dies-launching-firework-top-head-article-1.2282157?utm_content=buffer1d3a0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=NYDN+Facebook

Ugh. I know. I feel so bad for the other people who saw the aftermath.

[derp]

“Definitely life of the party that’s for sure”

ummm

[callie]

I really don't understand people.