Teen Causes Explosion at Bonfire: 17 Injured After Fuel Barrel Ignited
A juvenile has been convicted with putting off an immense bonfire detonation that injured over a dozen people, according to court documents. Sam Armstrong, 18, was with a group of teenagers at a bonfire in Wisconsin, US, on October 14 when he allegedly threw a barrel containing a gasoline-diesel mixture into the flames, according to WLUK-TV. According to the criminal complaint, the explosion burned at least 17 of the sixty persons in attendance at the function.
Armstrong, who was 17 years old at the time of the incident, would later explain to local authorities that he was unaware that his actions would cause the detonation and injure others present. In addition, he confessed to investigators that he had consumed beer that night. Thursday, Shawano County prosecutors filed 13 charges of injury by negligent handling of explosives or fire against the 18-year-old. Armstrong waived his preliminary hearing, and as a result, a magistrate set his signature bond at $100,000. On September 13, he will appear in court for his arraignment.
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Second Individual Charged as Authorities Unravel Details of October Mishap
Armstrong is the second individual to be accused in relation to the October occurrence. A 16-year-old who allegedly helped Armstrong with the container in February was compelled to perform voluntary community service. The criminal complaint states that police responded to a residence on Cedar Drive after receiving reports of multiple teens being admitted to a local hospital following an explosion. The teen would explain to authorities that he had pleaded with a resident of the residence all night to throw the barrel into the fire. After the barrel was hurled onto the fire, approximately 0.5 seconds passed before the fire began to spread.
The lawsuit claims that Armstrong explained he pulled away from the fire pit and then moved over to extinguish the fire that had engulfed victim number four. Brandon Brzeckowski, one of the teenagers burned in the detonation, believes it is fair that Armstrong has been charged with all of the crimes. Everyone is so young, he went on to say. The adolescent required multiple operations to cure the 38 percent of burns on his body. Soon, he hopes to find work in construction.
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Source: Mirror News, Wislaw Journal
