Teen Hurt by His Fireworks Cocktail

A 16-year-old Santa Ana boy suffered a serious eye injury Wednesday when he stuffed a 2-liter plastic soda bottle with fireworks and lighted it, officials said.

The boy was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where his right eye was being treated, said Santa Ana Fire Department spokesman Tony Espinosa. His name was not released because he is a minor.

“He watched it explode, and as a result, some fragments struck him in the right eye,” Espinosa said. “There’s a possibility that he could ... lose sight in [the] eye.”

The explosion occurred shortly after 10 a.m. in the driveway near his home, at an apartment complex in the 1200 block of Madison Avenue, officials said. The boy, who was alone, ran home and family members called paramedics.

The boy had stuffed the bottle with a variety of pyrotechnics, including gunpowder from a Piccolo Pete, officials said. The explosion burst the bottle, shooting fragments into his eye.

Certain fireworks are legal in Santa Ana but not if they are modified, Espinosa said.

The incident is the second of its kind in Orange County this week.

A 16-year-old in Garden Grove was injured Monday after filling a 2-liter soda bottle with explosive powder from fireworks and igniting it, officials said. He suffered burns on his forehead and remained hospitalized Wednesday at UCI Medical Center in Orange.