NY man blows off arm with fireworks - Jul 2010
New York (CNN) -- On Saturday, a man lighting fireworks outside his Long Island home became the latest victim when he completely severed his left arm from his shoulder, Suffolk County police said.
Eric Smith, 36, was using a three-foot-long metal tube to shoot mortars near his Islip Terrace home on Saturday evening. One of the explosives shot out and struck him in the left arm, taking it off, said police.
Smith's friends wrapped the arm in ice and took him to the emergency room at Southside Hospital, and he was transferred to the intensive care unit of Nassau County Medical Center, where he is listed in critical, but stable condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
While she wouldn't comment on the status of Smith's arm, spokeswoman Shelley Lotenburg said the hospital does not perform limb reattachments.
Smith was illegally using a commercial fireworks device -- which explodes at a much greater force than a firecracker, said Suffolk County Police Lt. Mathew Sullivan.
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Play with your explosives safely kids.
