(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – A 58-year-old man was critically injured Sunday night when commercial-grade fireworks exploded in his face, Lake County authorities say.
Lake County sheriff’s deputies responded around 9:15 p.m. to unincorporated Cary for a report of a person injured by fireworks and found the man drifting in an out of consciousness, officials said.
Authorities determined the man came to a gathering with “numerous commercially rated fireworks, which require a permit to permit and detonate.” He lit a firework, which did not detonate, officials said, until he looked into the tube housing of the device.
The firework “discharged, striking his face and then exploding upon the contact with his face,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release issued Monday.
The man, who sustained major injuries to the head, was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. He remained in critical condition, officials said.
Sheriff’s deputies collected several unexploded fireworks, which were transferred to the Waukegan Bomb Squad for destruction, officials said.
Criminal charges are possible.
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