CHICAGO, Illinois --
A
father was killed on the Fourth of July in a tragic fireworks accident
in Chicago. A source said it reportedly happened in front of his
10-year-old son.Around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, the 42-year-old man went to check on a firework that didn't seem to be firing. It blew up in his face as it shot into the air, police and fire officials said.
The accident happened in an alley on West 54th Street in the city's Gage Park neighborhood.
The man was transported to Holy Cross Hospital, where he later died. The man's identity has not yet been released.
No one else was hurt.
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A man died after being struck in the face by a firework Tuesday night in the Gage Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side.
David Griffin, 42, was struck about 9:30 p.m. as the firework shot into the air in an alley in the 2500 block of West 54th Street, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Griffin, who lived in the same neighborhood, was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:54 p.m., authorities said. No other injuries were reported.
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CHICAGO (WLS) --
A father was killed in front of his children on the Fourth of July in a tragic fireworks accident on Chicago's Southwest Side.Around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, 42-year-old David Griffin was lighting fireworks in an alley in the 2500-block of West 54th Street in the city's Gage Park neighborhood. His wife said he was with his young children at the time.
When he went to check on a firework that didn't seem to be firing, it blew up in his face as it shot into the air, police and fire officials said.
Griffin was transported to Holy Cross Hospital. He died about 20 minutes after the accident. No one else was hurt.
Fernando Sotelo, Griffin's upstairs neighbor and family friend, said he worked as a security guard and will be remembered as a good father who was always looking out for others.
"It's dangerous around here. When there would be drive-bys, he'd come out and protect us. He was protective over this neighborhood," Sotelo said.
Two other men were badly hurt in separate accidents involving fireworks over the holiday weekend. A man in his 30's suffered a critical injury in the 4300-block of West Cortez Street. The injury was specific to his hand, but bad enough to be considered critical.
A man in his 40's also badly injured his hand Tuesday when a firework blew up as he was handling it in the 4600-block of West Belmont Avenue.