Saturday, July 4, 1998
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- A 12-year-old girl was killed and one woman seriously injured when part of a fireworks display tipped over, causing a rocket to fire into a crowd watching a Fourth of July celebration.
Eight other people were treated at three area hospitals for minor burns.
Lacey Seminsky died at MetroHealth Medical Center of a head injury suffered in Thursday night's accident, a nurse said. Laverne Pohana, 76, was in stable condition Friday with burns over 15 percent of her body.
Witnesses said it appeared a crate holding several cannons used to launch fireworks tipped over at Elmwood Park in this Cleveland suburb. The 5-inch-wide shell shot underneath a wooden gate, across a parking lot and into the crowd before exploding.
The fireworks did not appear to be faulty, State Fire Marshal Don Tietrzycki said Friday.
"I have samples of the charges that they were going to do their display with," he said. "None of them appear to be deteriorated. As far as my visual (inspection), they appear to be in good condition."
Coyote Rainbow Co. of Titusville, Pa., handled the fireworks display and had never had an accident, said Gary Beohmerle, the company's vice president. Coyote has been putting on fireworks displays for about 10 years, including six for Independence.
Mr. Beohmerle said the fireworks were checked before the show and all of his workers are properly trained and licensed. He said the crowd was the minimum distance of 350 feet away.
"There's no indication that the shell was faulty," he said. "We don't know how it fell over. We're still trying to get this thing wrapped up."
Independence Mayor Gregory Kurtz said he was shocked by the accident.
"There is no doubt this is my hardest day as mayor of this city," he said. "I am proud of our safety forces for managing a tough situation and I want to express my deepest gratitude to the surrounding communities that provided mutual aid."
