A Kentucky man was killed on the Fourth of July after sustaining injuries when a firework exploded, according to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were dispatched Tuesday around 10:26 p.m. for a person who had been injured in Florence, about 15 miles southwest of Cincinnati, officials said in a news release.
Once they arrived at the scene, the deputies found 48-year-old Brian Simpson dead, officials said.
Through an investigation, deputies determined that Simpson was attempting to light a commercial-grade firework using a homemade mortar tube, the sheriff’s office said.
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While the firework was designed for electronic detonation, since it ignites instantly, Simpson had cut the wick in half and the firework immediately exploded when lit, killing him, officials said.
Officials said the sheriff’s office is handling the investigation, adding that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and Florence Fire Department assisted at the scene.