Texas Father, Postman Killed When Fireworks Explode On His Chest — Leaves Behind Son, 3

For the second time in a week, a young man has been killed by fireworks. This time around, the victim was the father of a 3-year-old boy, and lit a Medieval Knight firework off his chest.

Justin Bartek, 30, died later at a local hospital, KPRC reported.

Authorities don’t know exactly why the man, who also worked as a postman in the small Texas town of Columbus, put the large tube firework on his chest. His injuries haven’t been specified, KTRK added. Investigators believe it was an accident, and will conduct an autopsy.

The accident happened at 1:30 a.m. at a fishing spot known locally as the Dollar Hole, along a section of the Colorado River in Texas. The local sheriff said Justin lit a firework on his chest; it injured him when it went off. The paramedics were called and he was rushed to the hospital.

His mother told the New York Daily News that her other son was also injured on July 4, but didn’t specify how. After tending to his injuries in Colorado, Texas, she and Justin’s father and are now making their way to Columbus.

Back in his small Texas neighborhood, his friends are grieving the loss of the young father and postman, who was known for his generosity, personality, and “infectious spirit,” according to friend Erika Johnson.

“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. I was driving by to go to the post office and I saw a postal truck, and just out of habit is to go wave and it wasn’t him.”

Bartek was a father to Braxton, only 3, and partner for 10 years to Summer Jenkins, the Colorado County Citizen reported. A friend of the couple have set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for the funeral.

Meanwhile, another family is grieving the loss of young man who was killed when he tried to launch the explosive off his head. As the Inquisitr previously reported, Devon Staples, 22, was killed instantly on July 4; he and his friends were celebrating the holiday in his backyard in Maine.

Police have stated that a reloadable fireworks mortar tube killed Devon, which his mother said her son likely believed was a dud, the Associated Press added. The state’s fire marshal refutes that belief.

Regardless, Kathleen Staples plans to contact local lawmakers in an attempt to legislate tighter controls on fireworks, though her efforts will likely be for naught. Retailers oppose such laws, insisted Rep. Michel Lajoie, who has tried to enact the same measure in the past.

The simple fact is, even if there is a law, it won’t force people to behave responsibly, or prevent someone from lighting the explosive on their head or chest. He will still pursue it, however.

“They’re going to say, ‘Well, you can’t regulate stupidity’… and it’s true, you can’t. But the fact of the matter is you have to try something. I’m not giving up.”

[Photo Courtesy of Twitter]