Officials have identified a 70-year-old man who died from a fireworks incident on the Fourth of July, according to Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz’s office.
The incident occurred at around 9:19 p.m. when police received a 911 call for a report of a person hit by a firework at 34 Beach St. in Wareham.
Wareham police, fire and emergency medical services found 70-year-old Robert Spagnuolo, of Wareham, with an apparent facial injury from a firework, the district attorney’s statement reads. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
After interviewing several witnesses, investigators determined that Spagnuolo was setting off fireworks at the beach when one exploded in his face, causing traumatic injuries.
The incident happened during an Independence Day party and nobody else was hurt, WCVB reported.
Massachusetts State Police did not immediately respond to questions about the incident.
Massachusetts State Police, Wareham Police and the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal are investigating the matter, the district attorney wrote on X.
Fireworks in Massachusetts are illegal without licensing and certification. State law mandates that police seize any illegal fireworks they find — even those that were purchased lawfully in another state and then taken to Massachusetts. People who use or possess fireworks illegally can be fined, while those who sell illegal fireworks can be sentenced to jail.
Illegal fireworks have caused more than 200 serious injuries, more than 500 fires and explosions and nearly $1 million in damages in Massachusetts alone over the past five years, the fire marshal’s office said in a press release.
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