3 Seriously Injured In Fireworks Accidents On Long Island

LONG ISLAND, NY – Three people were seriously injured in separate fireworks accidents over the Fourth of July holiday weekend on Long Island, authorities said.

A 29-year-old man suffered a hand injury while lighting a firework at a home on Tamarack Street in Central Islip at 9:15 p.m. Brandon James, of Brookhaven, was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of his injuries, Suffolk County police said.

Less than an hour later, 29-year-old Carlos Diaz was attending a family gathering in the backyard of a home on Robert Court in Port Jefferson Station when he attempted to light a mortar-style firework. The device exploded and struck Diaz in the face, severely injuring one of his eyes, police said.

On Sunday around 9:30 p.m., Nassau County police were sent to Polaris Drive in Levittown for a report that someone was injured in an explosion.

Officers found a 20-year-old man had accidentally detonated a firework in his hand. The man, who police did not name, was hospitalized with serious injuries to his hand and eye.

Consumer fireworks are illegal in New York. On average, 180 people go to the emergency room every day in the United States with fireworks-related injuries during the month around the Fourth of July holiday.

Suffolk police told Patch they received about 1,160 calls reporting fireworks between Friday and Sunday. In Nassau, police made seven arrests for illegal fireworks over the weekend, officials said.