Northern MI Man Dies After Fireworks Used to Honor Deceased Friend Explodes

A Northern Michigan was accidentally killed earlier this week after the fireworks he was lighting exploded.

A small memorial was being held on Tuesday night in Benzie County to honor a friend that had recently passed away. Around 10 pm, while honoring their friend on Crystal Lake, A 28-year-old Frankfort man lit some fireworks that were being used for the memorial. Something apparently went wrong and the man was killed after the fireworks exploded, according to UpNorthLive.

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Was Anyone Else Hurt in the Incident?

Aside from the man that was killed, another person was critically injured in the explosion. The 27-year-old Frankfort man was flown to a hospital in Grand Rapids for treatment. It's unclear what his condition is at the moment.

Just a terrible situation all the way around. Friends get together to remember a friend that had passed away and during the memorial another friend is tragically killed and another is seriously injured. I can't imagine what all those people and their families are going through right now.

It's really rare to hear about a deadly fireworks accident happening in the middle of the winter. It's unclear if the accident was a result of faulty fireworks or if the man handled them improperly.

Frankfort, Michigan is about 45 minutes north of Manistee on Lake Michigan.

I haven't seen any stats from 2021 but according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 18 people in the U.S. died in 2020 after episodes involving fireworks, compared with 12 people the previous year.