A 20-year-old man from Kailua-Kona died following a fireworks incident on the Fourth of July on Hawaiʻi Island.
At 10:27 p.m., Kona patrol officers and Hawai‘i Fire Department personnel responded to a report of a public accident, possibly involving illegal fireworks, in a retail parking lot in the 74-5400 block of Kamakaeha Avenue in Kona.
The officers found 20-year-old Glen John Nakata lying on the ground with a substantial head injury.
Bystanders told police they saw Nakata holding a fireworks launcher above his head when the firework went off, sending the young man to the ground.
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Nakata was transported by ambulance to the Kona Community Hospital. He was pronounced dead at 11:55 p.m.
Police have launched a coroner’s inquest investigation and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. Police ask that anyone who witnessed this incident to please contact Officer Melani Cline at 808-326-4646, ext. 253.
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