NY Man Blows Arm Off With Fireworks

The idea is to get out of the way

By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Suggested by Kim_Hartman

Posted Jul 4, 2010 5:41 AM CDT

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NY Man Blows Arm Off With Fireworks — Fireworks explode above Parliament to mark the end of Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa, Ontario, on Canada Day, Thursday, July 1, 2010. (AP Photo/THE CANADIAN PRESS/Pawel Dwulit)

Police say a man lighting fireworks has blown off his arm at a party on New York's Long Island. Suffolk County police say 36-year-old Eric Smith was using a 3-foot-long metal tube to shoot mortars from the street near his Islip Terrace home around 5:45pm yesterday.

Police believe he leaned over the device to ignite it and didn't get out of the way before an explosive shot out of the launcher. His left arm was severed at the shoulder. Smith was taken to Southside Hospital in serious condition while friends packed the lost limb in ice. Police say another person at the party also was taken to a hospital, but it's unclear why. (More fireworks stories.)

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