If you have any stories from this Fourth of July holiday about mishaps with fireworks–safe and sane or unsafe and insane–let us know in the comments. We'll kick things off with injuries to two sad sacks, including one who lost a thumb.
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The mayhem started on the Third of July, when a 49-year-old man suffered critical injuries after an explosive device detonated near him in Buena Park, according to the Orange County Fire Authority, which was unsure if it was a legal firework or illegal explosive that blew.
The unidentified man suffered injuries and burns to his neck and upper body in the blast that happened around 8:45 p.m. Thursday in the 6000 block of Marcella Way, said fire Capt. Steve Concialdi.
Over in Long Beach on the Fourth, a man who was drunk lost his thumb after the firecracker he was holding exploded in his hand, according to Long Beach Police. The blast from the illegal explosive caused the unidentified man to suffer injuries that took him to the hospital, where an amputation was performed.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.