Darwin Award candidate

[Tank]

http://ktla.com/2015/07/06/former-gaston-actor-at-disney-world-killed-in-firework-incident/

 

[arch stanton]

 

“I was the first one who got there. There was no rushing him to the hospital. There was no Devon left when I got there,” his brother said. “It was a freak accident. …. But Devon was not the kind of person who would do something stupid. He was the kind of person who would pretend to do something stupid to make people laugh.”

The victim’s fiancee, Kara Hawley, also said the incident was an accident.

“He would never intentionally do something like that. He was just trying to get us to laugh,” Hawley told the Portland Press-Herald.

 

Maine is the Florida of the northeast.

[ELEVEN]

One less dog walker in the world.

*this should still count in Florida's column.

[fan_since79]

First rule of gun safety: the gun is always loaded.

 

First rule of fireworks safety, same thing. It's never a dud. It's also something you never put on your head, period.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Alcohol was involved. I never would have guessed.

[Tank]

So it blew his head clean off?

 

they're nog providing that detail, but yeah, sounds about right.

 

mortars are used to launch the fireworks you see at shows, and those are pretty powerful explosives. not sure how they had something that required a mortar to launch. i'm sure the lawsuits that are bound to come from this will address that issue.

[CaliAngel]

Not sure how much you guys know about fireworks, but in my younger years (about a decade ago) me and my buddies would go crazy for the illegal ones. You can buy mortars at Indian Reservations if you're 18, in fact there's one about an hour past Vegas on the 15 if you're going there from Southern California. We'd make 24 hour trips just to spend a couple hundred buck on roman candles, bricks of 1000 bottle rockets, and multiple shot mortars. So basically with a starter mortar "kit" you get 1 launching tube, and 6 mortar bombs. Cost you about 50 bucks. They have multiple explosion mortars, tubes with more launches, bigger everything, it really is pretty endless.

 

The bombs you put in the tubes have long fuses, so you put them in the tube, the fuse sticks out from the top of the tube, you light them, then run the hell away. There's a big BOOM which launches the mortar out of the tube into the air (which you hear at most fireworks shows), then a couple second delay so the firework explodes in the air after it's launched. They can explode into circles and shapes that we're used to seeing at the ballpark, they can have report (whistles) or crackling noises. Who knows the force that's made when the thing BOOMS into the air, but I'll tell you one thing, even in my drunkest state I would NEVER EVER hold it or even THINK of putting it on my head.

 

"There was no Devon there when I got there" could mean countless things.

 

The tubes you launch mortars with are only to be used a couple times, because they degrade with every use. You buy a 6 pack of mortars, you ditch the tube after 6 uses, because they're basically only thick cardboard tubes. Unless they used a mortar tube too much and the *boom* explosion to launch the mortar injured him, or the mortar malfunctioned and exploded on top of his head, he probably didn't have his head blown off. What most likely happened is he put the launching tube on top of his head, and the impact of the "boom" which blows the mortar into the air, pushed his head down into his spine and paralyzed him. News reporting is terrible, public commentary is terrible, it seems there's no way to tell for sure, but "blowing his head off" seems incredibly unlikely.

 

Also, lighting a fuse on "accident" is complete bullsh*t. They're controlled by computers and complicated systems at the stadium and stuff, but if you light a fuse on a firework you bought somewhere, you usually have to hold the flame there for a second or two to get the thing going. In my humble opinion, there's no such thing as lighting a firework "on accident" when you have to hold it there for a good second or two.

 

I think this guy was usually around for laughs, had a bit much to drink, pushed the bar a bit, and made a fatal mistake.

 

Darwin Award Candidate indeed.

 

 

[mtangelsfan]

His mother is now calling for "stricter regulations".

 

I agree, it should be illegal to shoot fireworks off of your head.

[wopphil]

Damn, Cali, you sound like a real pyro. And probably lots of fun to hang out with.

[nate]

I knew of a guy that used to go to NV and rent a uhaul, return with about $30k worth of illegal in CA fireworks and turn them into a $30k profit.  He would also keep a nice stash and light them off.  The town he lived in really didn't care what they lit off.  He would light off repeaters and mortars and everything else you can imagine.

 

One year I gave him $500 for some mortars and other fun stuff.  We took them to my friends beach house in Manhattan Beach and lit them off over the ocean.  It was pretty awesome.  We took them down a couple at a time so we didn't get caught with a huge stash.

 

Anyway, in Wisconsin it is funny.  All fireworks other than fountains are illegal... except when the city you live in issues you a permit.  Most of the more rural towns will issue a permit to anyone for about $10.  There are fireworks stores the size of Walmarts with everything you can imagine and they are open year round.  Just about every holiday is welcomed with lots of fireworks.

Edited July 7, 2015 by nate

[Crampknees]

Real mind blowing story.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

His mother is now calling for "stricter regulations".

 

I agree, it should be illegal to shoot fireworks off of your head.

 

I read an article talking about her response and if anything I think there need to be stricter regulations in regards to who is able to procreate.   

[Jason]

Teen falls to his death after climbing 6th Street Bridge during apparent social media stunt, LAPD Chief Michel Moore says - ABC7 Los Angeles

imagine dying just to get like on a social media page 

[Taylor]

12 hours ago, Jason said:

Teen falls to his death after climbing 6th Street Bridge during apparent social media stunt, LAPD Chief Michel Moore says - ABC7 Los Angeles

imagine dying just to get like on a social media page 

New TikTok Challenge: Death.

[Jason]

2 hours ago, Taylor said:

New TikTok Challenge: Death.

Exactly

[PattyD22]

Here’s a few examples of trying to throw a lit M80 towards your friends for shits and giggles.

For the record…this 911 call came in to us as a “MINOR INJURY”.  I’d say so

Edited May 25, 2023 by PattyD22

[Blarg]

That guys typing speed just went from 85 WPM to 20.

[cals]

dude

[Jason]

2 hours ago, PattyD22 said:

Here’s a few examples of trying to throw a lit M80 towards your friends for shits and giggles.

For the record…this 911 call came in to us as a “MINOR INJURY”.  I’d say so

That’s gonna leave a mark 

[Brandon]

I don't know how to post the link/videos properly, but the 2 Bears 1 Cave group on FB has a myriad of these Darwin Award types. I feel like someone here posted the drumming one years ago.

https://www.facebook.com/100002248804771/videos/6180798125335431/

https://www.facebook.com/reel/581789580723223

 

[Vegas Halo Fan]

On 7/6/2015 at 7:42 PM, arch stanton said:

Maine is the Florida of the northeast.

He worked at Disney World, so there is a Florida connection.

But Devon was not the kind of person who would do something stupid.

Honestly?

[Taylor]

I kind of wish @PattyD22 had put that in spoiler font.

[PattyD22]

1 minute ago, Taylor said:

I kind of wish @PattyD22 had put that in spoiler font.

I wish PattyD22 knew what that was.

[Taylor]

19 minutes ago, PattyD22 said:

I wish PattyD22 knew what that was.

When you're posting, if you click the little eyeball symbol in the toolbar, it creates a "Spoiler Font." Essentially it's a quote box that people have to click on to view the text/pictures inside.

Spoiler

Like this

 

[Jason]

20 hours ago, Taylor said:

I kind of wish @PattyD22 had put that in spoiler font.

At least you now know not to play with M-80s