A 65-year-old Long Island man was airlifted to a hospital with a serious groin injury after a firework went off in an East Patchogue apartment.
The Suffolk County Police Department said John Philpotts-Kerr was “seriously injured” when the explosive “unexpectedly detonated in his lap, injuring his groin.”
The victim lived in the apartment where the explosion occurred late Sunday afternoon.
A medevac helicopter took Philpotts-Kerr to Stony Brook University Hospital “for treatment of serious physical injuries.”
No other injuries were reported. Authorities are asking that anyone with information about the incident contact arson detectives. Local news site Greater Long Island described Philpotts-Kerr’s residence as a “garage apartment.”
Information about the kind of explosive with which the victim was wounded was not reported. Police called the incident a “firework accident.”
