At the age of 15, magistrate Tim Halloran lost parts of three fingers and a thumb on his right hand on New Year’s Day 1958.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County Magistrate Tim Halloran knows just how destructive fireworks can be.
Although the Charleston native received his fireworks-related injuries on New Year’s Eve, his is a cautionary tale for everyone taking part in Independence Day celebrations this weekend.
It was in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 1958. Halloran, who was 15 at the time, decided to set off an aerial bomb firework outside.
But the firework didn’t go off.
After allowing it to sit for a couple of hours, Halloran met up with a friend, dismantled the firework and went to set it off in a new location. After they realized they weren’t going to be able to set it off there, he decided to light it and throw it out of the car window.
Halloran decided to roll down the window just enough to throw the firework out because the air was chilly, and that’s when something went wrong.
He lit the fuse and started to throw it out of the car when it got stuck and tumbled back into the car. Halloran said it landed on his lap and as he instinctively brushed it off with his hand it went off. The firework exploded between his hand and the passenger door, causing the door to blow open.