A Fourth of July celebration in Southern California ended in horror after two teenagers were severely injured by an illegal firework that exploded in their hands.
Maria Escalante, a mother of twins, told CBS News that one of her sons and a friend picked up an illegal firework from the street in Anaheim and lit it. Moments later, it exploded.
The blast caused traumatic injuries to both teens’ hands. Escalante said her son lost several fingers on his right hand and remains hospitalized with both hands wrapped in bandages.
“He’s not doing good. He’s going to be in the hospital for about two months. His hands are literally butchered,” Escalante told CBS.
The teen’s twin brother witnessed the explosion and has been traumatized by what happened, she said.
Doctors are now working to save what they can of her son’s hands. Escalante said he will need reconstructive surgery, but there is still a chance doctors may have to amputate more fingers if blood is not properly circulating.
“They’re going to do their best to reconstruct his hands, but they can’t guarantee nothing,” she told the outlet. “They’re going to see if he has proper circulation going to the last fingers he has, to the few fingers he has left in his hand.”
Escalante later returned to the scene on South Mountain View Avenue, where she found pieces of the illegal firework. Now, she wants Anaheim police to investigate how the banned pyrotechnics ended up there in the first place.
She said the other teen’s mother told her illegal fireworks are sold in the area every year.
“[The other teen’s] mother told me that every year they sell illegal fireworks here, so I don’t know if the Anaheim Police Department knows about this or not, but they need to start investigating,” Escalante said.
She added that the other boy’s hands were also badly injured.
Shell casings and firework debris were reportedly seen at the scene after the explosion.
Illegal fireworks remain a major safety threat across California. According to 2023 data from the California Department of Public Health, fireworks incidents led to 718 emergency room visits and 200 nonfatal hospitalizations statewide.
Last month, The California Post reported that banned fireworks have been steadily flowing into California from Nevada, where some retailers have seen a surge of California buyers looking to get around local fireworks bans.
The danger has already proven deadly. At a Fourth of July party last year, an 8-year-old girl was killed after a man ignited an illegal $400 firework cake filled with professional-grade explosives that malfunctioned.
For Escalante, the warning to other families is urgent: one illegal firework can change a child’s life in an instant.