Southeast : Parents Won’t Be Charged in Accident

The parents of a 4-year-old Compton boy who blew off his little sister’s hand with a firecracker will not be charged with child endangerment because there was not enough evidence to prove that the parents were intentionally negligent, the district attorney’s office said Friday.

According to police, the boy climbed a six-foot dresser to retrieve an M-500 firecracker--equivalent to half a stick of dynamite--and retrieved a cigarette lighter from his father’s pants pocket. Then, as his parents slept nearby, he gave the explosive to his 2-year-old sister to hold while he lit it.