A fireworks explosion in western Michigan killed one woman and left nine others with injuries ranging from serious to minor, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department said. The explosion occurred Monday, but a press release from the department did not say whether it occurred during a public Fourth of July event. Deputies and ambulances responded to Main Street in Park Township shortly after 11 p.m. for a report that a firework had exploded and injured several people, the release said. A 43-year-old Holland Township woman died at the scene, the sheriff’s department said. . Nine other people were taken to area hospitals. Several houses and vehicles in the area were also damaged, according to the statement. The explosion is under investigation. The municipality of Park has a population of about 18,000 inhabitants. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Grand Rapids. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that in 2022, 10,200 people were treated in emergency rooms and 11 deaths were blamed on fireworks. About three-quarters of the injuries occurred in the period around July 4. In Allegan County, just south of Ottawa County and about 30 minutes earlier, a firework exploded in or near a crowd gathered for the July 3 Allegan Jubilee Show. Allegan Police Chief Jay Gibson told WWMT-TV that a stray mortar was fired during the show. There were no immediate reports of injuries. But it was enough to cause panic. “It was absolutely terrifying,” Amy Cummings told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. “I woke up and I can still hear the children screaming in fear.”
PARK TOWNSHIP, Michigan —
A fireworks explosion in western Michigan killed one woman and left nine others with injuries ranging from serious to minor, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department said.
The explosion happened on Monday, but a press release from the department did not say whether it occurred during a public event organized on July 4. Deputies and ambulances responded to Main Street in Park Township shortly after 11 p.m. for a report that a firework had exploded and injured several people, the release said.
A 43-year-old Holland Township woman died at the scene, the sheriff’s department said. Nine other people were taken to area hospitals.
Several houses and vehicles in the area were also damaged, according to the statement.
The explosion is under investigation.
Park Township has a population of about 18,000. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Grand Rapids.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that in 2022, 10,200 people were treated in emergency rooms and 11 deaths were blamed on fireworks. About three-quarters of the injuries occurred during the period around the Fourth of July.
In Allegan County, south of Ottawa County and about 30 minutes earlier, a firework exploded in or near a crowd gathered for the Allegan Jubilee Show on July 3. Allegan Police Chief Jay Gibson told WWMT-TV that a stray mortar was fired during the show.
There were no immediate reports of injuries. But it was enough to cause panic.
“It was absolutely terrifying,” Amy Cummings told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. “I woke up and I can still hear the children screaming in fear.”
