INDIANAPOLIS — Gearing up for any holiday week — let alone the Fourth of July — is major for fireworks!
With the excitement of the loud booms and bright flashes also comes the added responsibility of safety for yourself and everyone around you.
"I remember like, just being in shock," said Harlee Cox, who was hit by a stray firework
It was just a few years ago that Harlee Cox, who was just six years old at the time, was enjoying the fireworks with her mom Kayla.
"They were lighting them in the road that was a pretty good distance from us, because our front yard was pretty big, they lit a firework that essentially tipped over on its side. And it was like it misfired the first time, and then when it fell over, the shell came out," Kayla said.
They say they were doing everything right by staying far away and letting the adults light off the fireworks, but there was nothing they could do when a firework was heading straight for them.
"All I remember was trying to cover my head and hers, and it somehow slipped through the barrier that I was trying to create over top of her, and it landed on her neck," Kayla said.
She was rushed to the hospital and the said the next few days were stressful, but for Dr. Matt Landman, he says firework related injuries are not that uncommon for doctors like him to treat.
"I think the more common injuries that we see, both at the Riley emergency department and our community partners, we'll see are the burns, many of them isolated to the extremities," Landman said.
For tips on how you can celebrate safely this holiday week, click here.
Luckily, Harlee recovered well, and this year, her and her mom will be celebrating Independence Day their own way — inside.
"Me and Harley usually go inside and watch from the window, because I think after that accident, we just, that's just where we feel comfortable now," Kayla said.
Now, a few more laws are set into place for Indiana to make Fourth of July celebrations safer. For a detailed list of them, click here.
