For the second time this week, a man has died after setting off a firework on a body part. Justin Bartek, 30, succumbed to his injuries in Columbus, Texas on Tuesday after the firework exploded on his torso, according to KPRC.
Bartek, who works for the post office, was lighting fireworks with his friends near the Colorado River in Columbus Tuesday when he placed a large, tube-shaped firework on his chest and ignited it, according to eyewitnesses, ABC 13 reported.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital in a critical condition and was later declared dead. "He just had an infectious spirit, whenever you met him you met a friend," says a woman who set up an online campaign on GoFundMe to raise money to support Bartek's girlfriend and 3-year-old son. "He was the light of many people's lives and the world to the people that knew him, and he would give the world to any that asked," according to USA Today.
Will Paulsen, Bartek's former classmate, contributed towards the campaign and left a note that read "I went to school with Justin and Jessica. We weren't close buds or anything but I remember him. I have a little boy of my own and can't imagine the pain and life changes for your family. My heart aches and my prayers go out to you," according to The Washington Post.
Bartek's death comes a few days after a similar incident took place in Maine where a 22-year-old man died instantly on the Fourth of July from severe head injuries after he launched a firework off his head, as HNGN previously reported.