AURORA | A man was fatally injured in what police are calling an accident involving fireworks near Quincy Reservoir early Thursday morning.
At about 1 a.m., police responded to multiple 911 calls about an explosion in the area of the Grandview Dog Park, located near the reservoir. Officers found a 42-year-old Strasburg man dead from injuries that had apparently been inflicted by a firework.
Police said in a news release that the man will be identified by the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office.
Investigators believe the man traveled with two other people to visit food and beverage businesses in Aurora, and traveled to the park with fireworks in tow.
While police initially described the fireworks as “homemade” in a social media post, the department later said in its news release that it is unclear whether the fireworks were improvised or purchased out of state.
The Strasburg man was killed when a firework exploded as he was lighting it, police said. No other injuries or property damage were reported.
When law enforcement officers traveled to the man’s home, they found no evidence of explosive manufacturing and no other fireworks.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad and agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Denver division also responded to help with the first part of the investigation, and the Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement Network is partnering with local and federal law enforcement on the case.
The county bomb squad deactivated four other fireworks found at the scene. Police said they do not anticipate filing criminal charges but that the investigation is ongoing.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
Another Darwin award issued. Idiots like this don’t need to be part of the gene pool.
What is your problem?!? The man passed away! Geeeeezzzz! You don’t even know if it was his fault so stop being so mean!
Whose fault if not his?
Why setting offireworks in a residential neighborhood when those of us who work need to sleep?
In a field away from everyone in Strasburg would be fine.
As a red-blooded American males, my friends and I made great bombs and sethem offar from homes. (Had fireworks been legal where we lived, we probabyvould not have become “basement bombers”.)
You have to wonder about the motives behind playing around at midnight with some dynamite. Not exactly the norm.
Fireworks….sure hu-huh. Riiiiiiiiight.
So.rry. Did he look down the mortar tube to see why the firework did not launch and it finally fired? (Has happened before.)
Or different firework?
Were they drinking?
Pleaset offireworks earlier so that others can also enjoy them.
Apparently, this sort of thing has been terrorizing citizens for some time.
Sounds like the leads all led to a dead end.
Thanks for visiting.
No criminal charges seems odd. Are there not park curfews? Or rules about explosive materials in public places? Disturbing the peace in the middle of the night?