A 26-year-old man died late Wednesday after he was injured while setting off a fireworks display at his home in Lowell, Ind., police said.
Nicholas Saberniak was placing fireworks into a “mortar type” tube when one of the fireworks prematurely ignited and struck him in the face, Lowell police Chief John Shelhart said.
Police were called to the scene around 8:50 p.m. Tuesday, where he was transported to St. Anthony Health hospital in Crown Point. He was then airlifted to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Shelhart said.
He died shortly before midnight Wednesday, police said.
Saberniak doesn’t normally set off fireworks for the Independence Day, but he did that day with his girlfriend and her daughter , said his mother, Rita Saberniak.
“It was a horrible tragic accident,” she said. “It happened and cut short a life that had so much potential.”
Saberniak graduated from Lowell High School and worked for AKER, a steel company, his mother said. He liked riding his motorcycle and spending time with his friends and girlfriend, she said.
“He was a terrific guy with a zest for living,” Saberniak said.
Nicholas Saberniak’s fireworks display was legal, Shelhart said. Last year, an estimated 9,600 people were injured by professional-grade or homemade firework devices, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.
“It was just an unfortunate accident,” Shelhart said.