Woman dies in fireworks accident as family watches

MELVINDALE, Michigan (AP) -- A powerful firework exploded in the face of a woman trying to set it off, killing her as her fiance and 8-year-old son watched, police said.

Danialle Barse, 27, was unfamiliar with the commercial-grade aerial firework she was using Monday night, said Mike Welch, a police detective in this Detroit suburb.



"She basically killed herself in front her children and her fiance," Welch said.

Barse and another woman were trying to set off a 3-inch mortar bomb in the parking lot of the car wash where Barse worked when it went off as she had her head over it, Welch said.

One round hit the Lincoln Park woman, while the other 25 mortars continued to explode in sequence, keeping rescuers at bay, Welch said.

"The bombs were still going off as I ran up to try and drag her out of the way," witness Jason Dobrovalski told WDIV-TV. "But after I'd seen what had happened, I just ran back to try to save myself because it was too late."

No one at the car wash had permission for a fireworks display, Welch said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was investigating where the commercial-grade fireworks came from.

Barse was also the mother of twin 2-year-old boys

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