Man Killed By Firework Was Expectant Father With 3 Children

CHICAGO — A man killed while handling a firework on the Fourth of July in Chicago had three children with a fourth on the way, according to his family.

Earl Lory, 34, suffered body trauma in an incident around 10 p.m. in the 3000 block of North Kostner Avenue on the city’s Northwest Side and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to officials.

His brother, Christopher Lory, in a GoFundMe to support Earl Lory’s children’s educational future described his sibling as “a devoted husband and father” to his children, ages 14, 7 and 2.

“Our family has been upended by this unimaginable tragedy,” Christopher Lory wrote on the fundraiser webpage. “He had a smile that could fill the room with happiness. His presence touched so many lives and he didn't know it.”