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Auburn mother raises awareness after her son was seriously injured in fireworks accident on Sunday – KIRO 7 News Seattle

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AUBURN, Washington – “He keeps saying how sorry he is for messing it up.”

Heather Prince says she is relieved that her 15-year-old son, Zarias, is home from the hospital after he was seriously injured in a fireworks accident while playing with friends at Brannan Park in Auburn last Sunday.

“He said he set off the fireworks and then everything went white and when he came to, his hands were mutilated, he was bleeding and everyone was running towards him, grabbing his hands and trying to stop his bleeding until the ambulance came,” Prince said.

She says her son did not know he was lighting a high-explosive mortar.

“I have some mild post-traumatic stress disorder after seeing him in the ambulance and hearing him cry,” Prince said.

After being taken to Harborview, Zarias underwent surgery.

“He basically ripped off the entire part of his hand. It was beyond repair – the nerves were dead, so they had to amputate,” said the mother.

Last year, 9,700 people in the United States were injured by fireworks in the weeks before and after July 4th, and at least eight people died.

42 percent of emergency room visits were related to burns, with most victims between the ages of 15 and 19.

“Most of the injuries we see are actually preventable. There are people who try to push their limits with fireworks and do things that are inherently dangerous, but they still want to try it and unfortunately end up seriously injuring themselves,” said Dr. Stephen Morris of UW Medicine – Seattle.

“The main goal here is to make sure we raise awareness that accidents happen no matter how careful you are,” Prince said.

The family has a GoFundMe account to help pay medical bills.

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