Posted on 07/06/2026 7:07:25 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A South Carolina family is remembering the final words of a father who was killed in a devastating fireworks accident during a 4th of July celebration.
Allen Ray McGrew died in July 2024 after a firework exploded while he was celebrating at a neighborhood block party in Summerville, located in Dorchester County.
The 41-year-old had spent the evening celebrating what his family described as his favorite holiday. Videos later shared online showed him dancing, smoking a cigarette, and wearing an Uncle Sam costume while friends and relatives laughed nearby.
Speaking to The Post and Courier, Allen’s wife Paige said he appeared to be preparing to place a large firework on the ground after holding it above his top hat.
“I thought he was just showboating before he set it on the ground. I didn’t realize he had already lit it,”
According to a police report obtained by WCBD, Paige yelled for her husband to stop, but the firework detonated before he could react. He collapsed immediately after suffering catastrophic head injuries...
Authorities said the injuries likely killed him instantly, and he was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:10 p.m. The incident happened at around 10:30 p.m.
The family also pushed back against online criticism following the accident, saying Allen should not be remembered as a “drunken fool.”
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
To wit:
Happened near a friend’s home.
I am not a fan of fireworks anyway...Not only danger such as this, but setting them off in suburban neighborhoods with close housing causes home fires...
All that said, you cannot “fix” that level of stupid.
I’m not going to disparage the man, but I’ve shot fireworks my whole life and on every one I’ve ever seen there is a warning to “LIGHT FUSE AND GET AWAY!”.
When it comes to fireworks of any kind, there are no wiser words than those five.
On July 4, 2015 NFL defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul severely injured his hand in a massive fireworks accident. The explosion resulted in the amputation of his right index finger, as well as the loss of parts of his thumb and middle finger.
It’s been my opinion for a long time now that fireworks available to the general public are now way to dangerous.
Especially the mortars.
Playing around with fireworks, whether the fuse has been lit or not, is pretty stupid. I can only imagine what he would do with a firearm. And if you die by having a large firework explode on top of your head (that you decided to hold there), then you are an idiot, in addition to being a fool, drunk or not.
Many folks deny and don’t understand simply physics. In order for anything to launch upwards, there must be exerted a downward force in equal energy. This force went through his skull and then some.
"Ow!"
i thought Rule One was to NEVER hold fireworks in your hand while lighting them ...
[also, never throw live ammunition in a camp fire to see what happens, but that’s another story.]
I’m waiting for the punch line.
That’s cold……but effn hilarious 😆
The same thing happened some years back to a guy who portrayed Gaston at one of the Disney parks. I recall it happening several more times since then. How does anyone think that putting an explosive device on one’s head is a good idea?
I lived in Madison, Wisconsin, from the mid-70s to the mid-90s. Sometime in the 1980’s my wife and I went over to the country club and watched the fireworks display from the golf course. People would lay beach towels and blankets on the greens and lie back to look up at the fireworks, which detonated overhead and had an amazing effect in filling your field of view. The fireworks casing materials would float down on you as you were watching, but nothing dangerous. All of a sudden, the fireworks stop, and the radio synch-cast stops, and that’s it, show over. Sirens blare, and firetrucks race past as everyone heads home. The next day in the paper is the explanation that one of the fireworks company’s mortar tubes misfired, and an employee looked into the barrel to see what was wro... and, well, you get the rest. The fellow was decapitated. And he was an alleged professional.
When you are quoting an article, you need to at least quote the part referencedin the headline.
She later shared that shortly before the tragedy, her husband hugged her and their son and told them: “You are my rock, and you are my heart,” explaining afterward: “Me being his rock and his son being his heart.”
According to a police report obtained by WCBD, Paige yelled for her husband to stop, but the firework detonated before he could react. He collapsed immediately after suffering catastrophic head injuries, according to VT. Authorities said the injuries likely killed him instantly, and he was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:10 p.m. The incident happened at around 10:30 p.m.
Unless you are getting paid for our clicks.
“The family also pushed back against online criticism following the accident, saying Allen should not be remembered as a “drunken fool.””
Ok, “drunken idiot”.
“Hold my beer” works.
You don’t even have to lire a fuze. Just pouring or moving fireworks can explode them. Crackerballs that are tossed can explode and set off other fireworks by sparking them.. The gunpowder that leaks from the fireworks explodes very easily by just a spark or a cigarette.
Candidate for the yearly Darwin Award - he has a lot of competition...
Like this guy, who tried to light a firework off of his chest:
“Justin Bartek, a 30-year-old postal worker from Texas, died after attempting to light a ‘Medieval Knight’ mortar-style firework from his chest. ...The device exploded instantly, killing him.”
These weren’t “accidents” - they were done on purpose by idiots.
We live in a heavily forested area by a lake in North Idaho. I cringe when I see and hear fireworks being set off in the neighborhood. I’m surprised more forest fires aren’t ignited every July from fireworks. It’s easy to go to the nearby Indian reservations and buy anything you want, too.
Idiot.
The instructions say “light fuse and GET AWAY.” It’s says this for a reason.
Another candidate for the Darwin Award.
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