Allen Ray McGrew of South Carolina died in fireworks accident

A South Carolina father wearing a Stars and Stripes outfit and top hat was killed instantly Thursday when he placed a lit firework on his head shortly before it exploded, officials and his family said.

According to reports, 41-year-old Allen Ray McGrew was hosting a fireworks display for his neighbors on the Fourth of July and wanted to “show off” during the street festival in the city of Summerville.

McGrew suffered fatal head injuries after witnesses told authorities he set off the large firework and placed it in a bizarre manner on his head around 10:30 p.m., the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office said, according to WCBD.

The victim’s wife told officers she believed he was “showing off” while his family members begged him to stop, according to the sheriff’s office.

He died at the scene of the accident.

“He was holding this firework above his top hat,” Paige McGrew told the Post and Courier.

“I thought he was just showing off before he put it on the ground. I didn’t know he had already lit it.”

The incident occurred after he had been drinking for several hours, according to a police report obtained by the newspaper.

McGrew, the father of a son who recently got engaged, loved Independence Day and wore a new Uncle Sam costume during the street festival.

“Allen loved this holiday,” his wife told the Post and Courier.

“He was a patriot; he was proud of his son and happy to have a new daughter-in-law. Last night he lived life to the fullest.”

She reportedly said she would remember him as a “genuine, good person” who “loved life.”

“He worked hard,” she said of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning technician, “and he partied hard.”