An elderly Fremont couple spent Sunday afternoon sitting on their porch, enjoying the end of the Fourth of July weekend at their home near the Platte River.
Without warning, a piece of metal from a neighbor’s homemade fireworks smashed into 80-year-old Ioma Sukstorf’s face.
“Dad said he looked at mom, and there was just blood everywhere,” the couple’s son, Mike Sukstorf, said Tuesday.
Ioma Sukstorf was flown to the Nebraska Medical Center about 4 p.m. Sunday, said Dodge County Sheriff Steve Hespen. She remains in critical condition, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday.
Sukstorf was injured when a neighbor fired “a makeshift cannon” about 80 feet from the porch where she was sitting, Hespen said.
No arrests have been made in the Fremont incident, but Hespen said he has forwarded his investigators’ reports to the county attorney and expects charges to be filed sometime this week.
Fire Prevention Deputy Ray Nance of the Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office said it’s not uncommon to encounter people making their own fireworks or modifying legal fireworks. That’s often done, he said, by tying multiple fireworks together.
“There is a lot more of that going on out there than the average person realizes,” Nance said. “It’s very dangerous.”
The cannon-like device was formed out of a piece of metal pipe, about 1 inch in diameter, and welded to a metal base. The pipe was filled with gunpowder and a metal ball the size of a shot put was placed on top of the pipe, Hespen said.
Hespen said the neighbor had “successfully” fired the ball several times. The pipe eventually blew apart and a piece of metal struck Sukstorf. Hespen declined to identify the neighbor.
Mike Sukstorf said his parents were alone at their mobile home near the Platte River about one-half mile south of Fremont when the accident occurred. The Sukstorfs also own a home in Fremont.
His dad, 85-year-old Loyd Sukstorf, told him that, at first, the couple had no idea what had happened.
Mike Sukstorf said he does not know the name of the person who fired the device but has seen it used for the past several years on the Fourth of July.
“Apparently, this time someone loaded it too heavy with gunpowder, and the pipe blew apart,” he said. “It’s an accident, of course.”
Mike Sukstorf said his mother had metal plates inserted in her face during surgery Sunday night. Doctors are concerned about the potential for infection complicating her recovery, he said.
“She was already in ill health and on oxygen,” he said.
Another son, Jeff Sukstorf, said his mother remained on a ventilator late Tuesday afternoon.
“They are keeping her pretty well sedated,” he said. “Every once in a while she opens her eyes and is able to squeeze your hand and that’s about it right now.”
Contact the writer:
444-1272, kevin.cole@owh.com
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