Mom of man killed setting off fireworks on head: rules lax

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Mom of man killed setting off fireworks on head: rules lax

Patrick Whittle, Associated Press
Updated 12:20 am, Tuesday, July 7, 2015

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The mother of a man who tried to launch a firework off the top of his head for July Fourth and was killed instantly said Monday she's advocating for stricter controls about who can use the explosives.

Devon Staples, 22, and his friends had been drinking and setting off fireworks Saturday night in a backyard in Staples' eastern Maine hometown, Calais, when the accident happened with a reloadable fireworks mortar tube, police have said.

Staples' mother, Kathleen Staples, said she is going to reach out to lawmakers about the possibility of tighter controls over fireworks. The state should consider requiring safety training courses before allowing someone to use them, she said. She compared fireworks with other regulated items such as cars and guns.

"At least it'd be a little bit more than, 'Here you go,'" Staples said. "That's an explosive. They didn't just hand me a license and put me in the car."


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Mom-of-man-who-died-in-fireworks-accident-says-6368923.php

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[center]


Devon Staples

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[Helen Borg]

1. Something that goes "boom" is an explosive, I'd say...

How about suing the alcohol industry instead? I mean, assuming one really wants to blame someone else.

[UCmeNdc]

2. No, to be blunt and honest, your son did a very stupid thing

He paid for his lack of common sense with his life.

[Gormy Cuss]

80. He grew up in a state where fireworks were illegal.

"Common sense" requires common knowledge.

[Romeo.lima333]

3. it wasnt an "accident"

[Helen Borg]

5. Accidentally cut off his thumb while jugglling

machetes... Same thing...

[Kablooie]

4. Many states handle the imbeciles by requiring a professional license to shoot real fireworks.

We can get only "safe and sane" fireworks that limit the damage to putting your eye out if you stare into one as it goes off.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

50. Those "pots" he used are only allowed in WI if you have license and training-or you can't buy them!

They need some regulation over there.

[OakCliffDem]

6. Tragedy occures, find someplace to affix blame

In this case, the mom wants to blame the Government for the tragedy that occurred to her son. It is not that the Government has done anything that resulted in her son's death, but rather inaction by the Government allowed her son to engage in an activity that killed him. I am sorry for her son, but I am not of the opinion that the entire population looses their option to burn fireworks because her late son lacked the ability to think through his actions.

[Warpy]

52. It looks more like she wants to prevent other drunk guys from doing the same thing

Her son is dead and for that she has my sympathy. An untrained, drunken 22 year old should never have had access to nearly professional grade fireworks. The law is a ass.

But Jesus Christ on a trailer hitch, he was stupid.

[dixiegrrrrl]

58. Never known a drunk yet that stopped to read and obey a law.

I am sorry she has to bear the pain of losing her son, esp. via a stupid act.

[Warpy]

63. No, it's the sober guys who obey the laws

and don't sell dangerous shit to uneducated, untrained drunks.

[OakCliffDem]

62. Nineteen million people live in Florida

One of those 19,000,000 people's lack of judgment resulted in their death. The remaining 18,999,999 people are all restricted because of the action of the one.

[o]
Do have freedom or do we live in a nanny state?
[/ol

[raccoon]

76. Why not? untrained and drunk people have easy access to firearms. :sarcasm: nt

[Skittles]

7. she is a grieving mother

I won't judge

[Piasladic]

34. agree - nt

[Ed Suspicious]

41. Right on.

[bulloney]

8. This is an example of why we have all of these labels on things.

Behind each of these labels stating something a 2-year-old should know is a story of an adult like Staples who demonstrates absolute stupidity, along with family members of the victim who cannot just accept the fact that their relative did something beyond idiotic.

[Duckhunter935]

10. yep

[LiberalElite]

12. I cringe when I see those warnings on microwaveable food

Warning Food Will be Hot! Duh. That's the point..

[paleotn]

18. Totally agree.

here in the south, said stupidity is usually preceded by ...."Hey, ya'll. Watch this!" The words of doom.

[Laffy Kat]

31. "Hold this. Watch me" nt

[Duckhunter935]

9. sorry read the instructions

that are already there and why no mention of the alcohol. That killed him just as surely. Sorry common sense says you do not put a large explosive on your head.

[Android3.14]

11. Tree. apple.

Oh, there it is!

[IronLionZion]

13. Job killer!

That leftist woman wants job killing regulations!

[bigworld]

14. Unfortunately guys like this spoil it for people who do use alcohol, fireworks, etc safely <nt>

[d_b]

15. first alligator man, now him

I can't wait for act 3.

[paleotn]

19. Darwin at work. (nt)

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

30. Alligators ought to have warning labels on them

as well as a clock surgically implanted in their belly.

I know, it was a crocodile in Peter Pan, but I'm taking artistic license.

[csziggy]

44. Act 3 - 44 year old Indiana man killed by firework he put on his head

Man dies from firework explosion in Elkhart
ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. -

Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department officers and the Elkhart Coroner’s office began an investigation Sunday morning into the death of a man who died as the result of a fireworks accident.

44-year-old Jose DeJesus Magallanes suffered from head injuries after a firework explosion at his home on Independence Street in Elkhart.

The ruling of Magallanes’ death is accidental due to blunt force trauma to the head.
http://www.abc57.com/story/29478246/man-dies-from-firework-explosion-in-elkhart

[dixiegrrrrl]

64. Un f***ing believable....

[d_b]

79. good god...

[Novara]

16. This Day in Duh.

Here's a rule, lady: Don't get drunk and put explosives on your head.


Honestly, has she seen the packaging for those things? They come with warnings all over them.

[hobbit709]

20. The operative words: "Light fuse. Get away"

[7962]

23. Beat me to it!

[dixiegrrrrl]

65. Esp. this warning....

[blackspade]

17. Do we need a law that tells you not to put explosives on your head?

This is just personal negligence.

[marble falls]

21. Because setting off 4" mortor rounds on one's head is otherwise a logical thing to do....

without wanting to sound mean, this was a thinning of the herd.

From the article:

"Devon Staples also had lived in the Orlando, Florida, area, where he worked as a performer portraying Disney characters such as Gaston from "Beauty and the Beast" and Goofy, his mother said."

Oh, the irony.

[B2G]

46. Gaston?

No one drinks like Gaston
Lights his wicks like Gaston
Does incredibly ignorant tricks like Gaston

[marble falls]

61. AND he'd have Goofy's head mounted on the wall.

[Turbineguy]

22. You can't make things foolproof

because fools are so ingenious.

[Sunriser13]

24. No such thing as "idiot-proofing"

See, just when you think something's been made idiot-proof, along comes a more dedicated idiot...

I'm sorry for her loss, but there is nobody else to blame but him.

[Locrian]

25. I dunno

I mean of *course* it was a stupid thing to do... it just seems like he looks like a decent kid that made a (big) tragic mistake.

I personally think that the fireworks stuff has been getting way out of control. Back when I lit of firecrackers, you couldn't but a freakin MOTAR unless you were licensed. That was the illegal stuff even in states that sold "fireworks".

Some of the mortar stuff they sell now seems close (not exactly) but close to the old "pro" stuff. M80s, M100s, Silver Salutes, are still "illegal" but why are these arguably MORE dangerous mortars ok?


As for labeling. Yeah ok. We gots that covered for product liability no problem. Just like this

[Duckhunter935]

26. I loved those skits

From SNL. Back when it was good😜😜

[TexasBushwhacker]

47. I don't see the point of selling mortar rounds

and other pyrotechnics that so powerful they can kill someone. Leave that stuff to the professionals.

[NCjack]

57. The US military has jobs for those interested in explosives. nt

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

27. Kind of makes sense.

Mom is saying 'don't just let any idiot (like my son) buy these really dangerous items.'

It parallels gun ownership. Not just any idiot should be able to play with them.

[TNNurse]

28. We of course extend our sympathy

to this woman on the loss of her son.

There is no law that could have protected her son. This was not lack of general knowledge about fireworks. OK, maybe the public should not have access to fireworks of that size. But this was a grown man who had held jobs and functioned in the world. Clearly he had no impulse control while drinking alcohol. The laws are irrelevant under those circumstances.

[DetlefK]

29. What about safety-training for kitchen-knives? Or matches? Or hammer&nail?

The vast, overwhelming majority of adults use these devices (and fireworks) without any complications. Without anyone getting hurt or killed even though that's a non-neglectable possibility.
But on the other hand, the vast, overwhelming majority of adults are also sober while doing this.


The safety-instructions for fireworks are already included in the instruction manual:
1. Put them on the ground.
2. Light the fuse.
3. Take a few steps back.

[Major Nikon]

53. You could always go to the other extreme

Why not let everyone use hand grenades or fully automatic weapons? I'm sure the vast majority would have no complications.

Regardless of whether most get away with no complications, you still have the reality that the consequences for those that do include injuries that range from minor to death and millions of dollars in property damage each year for something that has zero utility unlike those other things you mentioned.

[DetlefK]

75. Hair-spray.

Zero utility. But if you make the can too hot, it explodes. And if you spray onto a flame, you get a flamethrower. Do we need safety-training for how to use hair-spray?

[Major Nikon]

78. Does hairspray cause deaths, hundreds of injuries, and millions of dollars in property damage

...each year?

[liberal N proud]

32. All he would have had to do is follow the safety guidelines and use some common sense

Past that, there wasn't much that can stop some.

Common sense, If it goes boom, don't put it on your head.

[HooptieWagon]

33. We need "rules" to prevent people from setting off fireworks on their head?

How about common sense? I'm not in favor of DIY fireworks, and it's too bad the guy was a victim of his stupidity, but cmon folks. I don't think it's even possible to predict every single possibility of foolish behavior and ban it...stupid people are creative.

[24601]

35. I'm very sorry about the death of your son Mrs. Staples. But do you really believe trainingg would

have covered not launching fireworks mortars using your head as a base?

But what did you teach your son about handling fireworks when he was growing up? Did it include what most people would consider common sense?

[sarcasm mode on]
But common sense isn't always a factor, is it? Consider the following of you are, perhaps, considering a lawsuit. Even though your 1st instinct may be to go after the manufacturer, is that the best choice? For example, Disney has very, very deep pockets.

Did you know that Walt Disney World is the largest consumer of fireworks in the United States and the Walt Disney Company is the largest consumer in the World? But Disney uses two safety features that are not found in the fireworks sold to the general public. First, they are launched by compressed air, not by combustion, And secondly, each detonation is controlled by an RF chip. No signal, no bang.

Why is this significant? Well, as any tort lawyer can explain, these unique features may have lured Devon into a false sense of safety that, when coupled by his alcohol consumption, led to behavior that a normal person would have considered reckless. Disney's liability is clear when you consider that neither Gaston nor Goofy, even when sober, are known for their brilliance - so shouldn't Disney have taken more care in his cast member training, thus ensuring that he understood the difference in the fireworks.

Legally, we need a Maine nexus to get this to Federal court because while Florida courts generally are good for plaintiffs, they are even better for Disney. So in addition to Devon's cast member experience, I believe tourists from Maine have been to Walt Disney World and may have seen their fireworks. Nexus created!
[sarcasm mode off]

On the downside, Disney has really good attorneys. They don't normally lose even when it is their fault.

[Amishman]

36. I feel for her pain but we don't need more regulations

This would be like banning metal in umbrellas because some golfer decided to stay out on the course during a thunderstorm and was killed by lightning.

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

37. He could have hurt someone ese or burne down a neighbor's house

or started a forest fire. Fireworks should be restricted.

[wordpix]

68. with you 100%. I watch fireworks from the local lake in a kayak

The owners around the lake are very generous, spending $10s of thousands on the fireworks. But I wouldn't want to be too close on land, esp. on a dry breezy day. Some of these yahoos are very drunk and/or don't know WTF they're doing.

[FailureToCommunicate]

38. Her first visit should be to Maine's wack-job Repub governor's office. Fireworks became legal again

in Maine, and the injuries and fires have gone up. Fireworks are available year round now. Stores are popping up everywhere.

THis article mentions the fireworks that exploded (NOT a dud it turns out) where "re packable" so maybe this would have happened anyway.

Any parent knows kids sometimes do stupid things that can haunt you the rest of your life.

I wish that grieving mom only solace in the days to come.

[restorefreedom]

39. personally, i would like to go back to more strigent regulations

in fact, an outright ban would be ok with me. i agree with the poster above. this fireworks stuff is getting out of control.

every year, people get killed. and sure, they have a choice to do something stupid or not. The wildlife who are terrified and end up getting killed because they're trying to escape the noise do not have a choice. The companion animals who spend their night in fear and in some cases have died of heart attacks or other cases of dogs that are running to the road to try to get away from the noise and get hit by a car, they don't have a choice. The veterans who suffer from PTSD, and I happen to know one, they don't have a choice.and every year somewhere a wildfire is started because of fireworks.

there are beautiful displays in almost every community, and there's also the stuff on TV like from Boston and Washington. It's just like guns, just because they're there doesn't mean people have to have unfettered access to them especially when they kill and cause destruction and hamper the quality of life of others.

[dixiegrrrrl]

66. Let' talk about banning cars, then, shall we?

Every single WEEK in my county of only 26.000 people there are at least 1, usually 2 or more, single car wrecks.
Every week.
and a few deaths a month, usually from "being ejected from the vehicle" when it hit a tree at 80 mph or rolled over.
Every week.
Sadly, occasionally, some maroon takes out another family, as happened to some friends of mine lat year when they were hit by a speeding driver.

Actually, around here, I am surprised there were no fireworks fatalities.

You wanna talk about removing potentially dangerous things from really stupid people?
I have a long long long list of US Congress members, most of them Republican.

[restorefreedom]

73. i don.t disagree with you about congress.

but fireworks are both toys and weapons at the same time. they are not necessary for a functioning society. they frighten and sometimes kill companion animals and wildlife, who have no choice. they scare veterans.

i might be more ok with it if local l.e. bothered to enforce noise ordinances, take away the illegal stuff from other states, etc.

but it seems pretty unfettered. that is what bothers me most.

[wordpix]

69. +1000, me, too

[Myrina]

40. Some assclown in Indy burned his hands holding a whole box of lit sparklers, and wants to sue ...

Um, they're on fire. They're not meant to be held en masse. Duh?

[uppityperson]

49. Did you know if you put a bunch of sparklers together, wrap with duct tape and light 1 it explodes?

Group of young men were upset with me for not letting them do that by my house or hold it as they lit it.

[wordpix]

70. instead of head banging I'm lmao

[cosmicone]

42. What next?

Warnings on fireplaces that contents may burn you?

Warnings on cliffs that if you fall you may be injured or dead?

Warnings on Niagara falls that if you jump, you may never be found in one piece?

Warnings on outlets that if you stick your fingers in, you may get shocked?

[packman]

43. Well, there are warning on

Mowers, "Do not put hands or feet under deck while blades are turning" and on new bought stoves, " Do not put hands on hot burners" and on a wall receptacle I just replaced, " DO not put foreign objects in a connected plug"--- there are a lot of these DUHH warnings on quite a few items.

[cosmicone]

45. I'm sure somewhere out there

Darwin is laughing his ass off.

[LanternWaste]

55. Most vulgar pretending to be clever people already are...

Most vulgar pretending to be clever people already are...

[uppityperson]

48. Was this the man in his 20s or the one in his 40s?

Looks like the 20s. I bring up the one in his 40s to show and isn't always helpful. Mixing alcohol and fireworks while ignoring BASIC safety is a bad mix and am not sure how to train people to not do such stupid shit. Maybe better physics training also?

[JudyM]

54. Exactly. And she may be kicking herself for not saying "don't do anything stupid". nt

[Exultant Democracy]

56. Kind of surprised that guy is only 22 from the picture

With only knowing how he die his age and the picture, I suspect that booze was already going to kill him very soon any way.

[hamsterjill]

59. I grieve for this mother who has lost her son.

But by the age of 22, an adult should know better than to do this.

It appears to me that the mother is trying to make some good come from a bad situation, and I applaud her for that much, at least. Fireworks can be dangerous and there does need to be some kind of real enforcement when they are being used in populated areas, etc. But I don't see how any regulation is going to keep someone from doing something that is this foolish.

[Oneironaut]

60. She's grieving, but let's be honest - this was stupid

The laws aren't lax - anyone with common sense wouldn't put fireworks next to their head in the same way someone who isn't a complete idiot wouldn't jump into the lion cage at the zoo and run around. There doesn't need to be laws protecting stupid people from themselves.

[wordpix]

67. I support her & yes, the son wins the Einstein Award 2015

[Starry Messenger]

71. I think there should be stricter laws about fireworks. Totally agreed.

However, I'm going to make a rare pleading for the politics of personal responsibility in commerce--most people should fucking know to not put something explosive on the top of their fucking heads.

[Judi Lynn]

72. The person giving the eulogy at his funeral would have a difficult assignment. n/t

[sendero]

74. I feel so sorry for her....

... but I doubt that rules, any rules, would have prevented this.

[Vinca]

77. While I sympathize with her, she will eventually have to face reality.

Her son acted like a drunken idiot and it had nothing to do with laws.