5 Fourth of July Fireworks Mishaps

WASHINGTON, DC — While most Independence Day celebrations went off without a hitch, many around the country experienced the darker side of the festivities.

For all the fun that fireworks bring, thousands people experience pyrotechnics-related injuries and property damage — accidents that unsurprisingly spike in the month of July. In 2016, around 11,100 hospital visits were tied to fireworks accidents, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and four people died.

Reports from around the country attest to the fact that fireworks continue to represent a serious public health hazard in 2017, sending many to the hospital with severe injuries. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Here are five mishaps that show the real dangers that fireworks pose:

1. Car packed with fireworks erupts in flames on New York Thruway

Five men were injured Monday after a car filled with fireworks was engulfed in flames. The explosions blackened a portion of the New York Thruway, and one firefighter who arrived on the scene said fireworks were still shooting out of the car by the time he got there.

Investigators determined that the blaze started when a speaker in the car overheated and triggered the fireworks. Two of the men involved were critically injured and were airlifted from the scene.

2. Garage burns down after man uses fireworks to kill bees

Here's a mishap that could have easily been avoided: A Michigan man used a smoke bomb against a nest of bees on his property, and he ended up burning his garage. Certainly, that's a disappointing way to celebrate the Fourth of July — but no one was injured, and the fire was contained.

3. California man suffers serious burns after fireworks ignite in his hand

A 55-year-old is recovering in the hospital after fireworks ignited in his hand in Lodi, California. He was apparently in his car at the time the accident occurred, and the vehicle was extensively damaged. In a warning about fireworks safety, the Lodi Police Department posted pictures of the damaged car:

4. 17-year-old in Flomaton, Alabama, loses fingers in fireworks explosion

An Alabama teen was taken to the hospital by helicopter Tuesday night after a firecracker he was lighting exploded in his hands, according to NorthEscambia.com. The report says he suffered "traumatic injury" and even lost fingers in the blast. The accident occurred at a church function.

5. Ohio Man injures hand and leg in large explosion

A 49-year-old man from Lakewood, Ohio, suffered severe injuries to his left hand and right leg after a fireworks accident on Tuesday night. Witnesses reported that the man's leg was "shredded" in police calls.

"Nothing I've ever encountered was this loud," one of the witnesses told Patch. "We covered our heads with our hands, and then we saw a flame. It wasn't going up. It looked like it was coming right at us."

Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images