Fireworks Blast Kills Wareham Man on July 4

WAREHAM (WBSM) — A 70-year-old man died as the result of an apparent fireworks accident Saturday night in Wareham’s Swifts Beach neighborhood.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz and Massachusetts State Fire Marshal Jon Davine announced that an investigation into the incident is ongoing, but identified the victim and were able to provide some details from the preliminary investigation.

At about 9:19 p.m. on July 4, Wareham Police received a 911 call for a report of a person hit by a firework at 34 Beach Street. First responders arrived and found a male victim “with an apparent facial injury from a firework,” according to authorities. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.

He was identified as Robert Spagnuolo, 70, of Wareham.

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An investigation then began with Wareham Police, State Police assigned to the District Attorney’s Office, the State Police Bomb Squad and the Massachusetts Fire Marshal’s Office. The investigators interviewed witnesses and determined that “Spagnuolo was setting off fireworks at the beach when one exploded in his face, causing traumatic injuries.”

The authorities said the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the exact cause and manner of death.