Teen-Ager Hurt in Fireworks Blast
An unidentified 17-year-old Costa Mesa youth was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange on Sunday afternoon after a fireworks concoction that he and his brother were making blew up in his face.
Police said that the youth suffered major burns to his face but that the injuries were not life-threatening.
The two had bought 12 Piccolo Petes, which can be purchased legally in Costa Mesa, and decided to empty the powder from each of them into a box and set them all off together, Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Loren Wyrick said.
“There is no way that any fireworks put together the way these boys were doing could be considered as legal,” Wyrick said.
Wyrick said the youths apparently believed they could make a bigger “pop” if the fireworks were taken apart and the powder dumped together.
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