Hum Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 FARGO, ND ? Police have identified the victim of Monday's fatal fireworks accident as Jesse William Burley, 41. An eyewitness here says a Fourth of July fireworks accident decapitated the Fargo man Monday night. Chris Hanson, who lives down the street from the victim, was packing up his car to leave north Fargo?s Riviera Heights mobile home park when the accident happened as tornado sirens sounded just before 9:30 p.m. Burley, Hanson?s neighbor, was getting ready to set off a second round of what Hanson said he believes was either a homemade or illegal artillery shell firework. ?He went over into the middle of the street, and within 10 seconds of us talking to him, he lit it and all we saw was a cloud of smoke, a bang,? Hanson said. What Hanson saw next sent him immediately into shock, he said. ?When I walked up to his body, it was nothing but his shoulders down,? Hanson said this morning. Earlier in the evening, Burley called Hanson over to his trailer to check something out. Burley showed him fireworks that contained a warning that read, ?If found please report to the U.S. government,? :huh: Hanson said. ?Right there and then I knew that I had to get away because I was not going to be involved in that,? Hanson said. His neighbor ignited the first firework, which went off with no injuries but a big bang, Hanson said. ?You could see the shock waves in the air,? he said. An hour and a half later, the neighbor lit the fatal second firework, Hanson said. The accident should be used as an example of how dangerous fireworks can be, Hanson said. ?At this point, we don?t know if he was struck or if the munition blew up, but it appeared based on the information we got during our investigation that it was caused by the fireworks in some manner,? Helmick said. The victim?s injuries included massive head wounds from what appeared to be caused by a mortar type firework, police said. ?It appears that he was lighting the device off, and so we don?t feel that there were others involved in the incident at this point,? Vettel said. ?We also understand that people want to shoot them off, and at the end of the day, people just need to understand that there?s a risk involved,? he said. ?And if people understand that there is, they hopefully will take more precautions to make sure if they are shooting them off, they find a safe location outside of city limits, but more importantly, they do them safely.? more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMH Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Really scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatingFatMan Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Darwin award, for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
episode Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Sounds like he had something that was more powerful than a firework, like an actual mortar. No fireworks, no matter the size, say 'report to US government'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel_rh Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Really scary. Sad but true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahhell Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Keywords from the article: trailerpark illegal fireworks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 How do you set off a military shell with a lighter/matches ? :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anibal P Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Sounds like he had something that was more powerful than a firework, like an actual mortar. No fireworks, no matter the size, say 'report to US government'. Probably a mortar simulator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan R. Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I don't understand why the article keeps referring to it as a firework. Clearly it's some idiot who found an artillery type weapon and tried lighting as if it was a firework. No firework has "Report to the U.S. Government" printed on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seizure1990 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Signal rockets? They're basically fireworks, but with a more practical purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoLiMiT06 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I think someone had one to many drinks.... :whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remixedcat Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 That's why I call the 4th Darwin day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ji@nBing Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 How did he manage to blow his head off? What, did he stick it in his mouth and light it? :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 ^ Maybe he was trying to blow out the fuse ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webeagle12 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 He "head" it coming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtreme2damax Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I guess he won't be getting ahead in life. Always have to learn the hard way, common sense out of the window.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomoko Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 People do stupid things with fireworks every year (or in this case military explosives). That's no reason to lose our heads over it and try to get them banned but every year some political critters start trying to do that. Fireworks are fine if handled correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadEndAccount Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Danger eliminating stupid people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyfrog Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 What was he doing setting off an artillery shell; had he lost his mind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoLdFuSi0n Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Now thats using your head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reacon Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 He's headed straight for hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ji@nBing Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 "It was one hell of a powerful trick cigar". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webeagle12 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Now thats using your head. I see what you did there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudslag Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 He "head" it coming Sounds like a real head banger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djnv2010 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 hmmm, "trailer park"...'nuff said!! :whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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