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ROY — Ten people were injured Saturday night after a firework went awry at the annual Roy Days festival, according to the Roy City Fire Department.
"It was good until everything started exploding," said Ronna Carver, a witness to the accident.
Around 10:15pm, following the grand finale of the fireworks show at Roy City West Park, 4500 S. 2900 West, a mortar or aerial shell began shooting sideways, Roy Fire Chief Jason Poulsen said. Investigators suspect that as one was coming down, it hit another going up, causing the fireworks to ricochet.
"We could see the embers, and it exploded almost in our face," another witness, Alison Carver, said. "The ashes were falling in our face; we had them in our hair. You could feel the little burning falling on you."
The celebration quickly turned to chaos, Alison Carver said.
"Everyone was grabbing their stuff, their kids; everyone was screaming," she said.
Of the 10 spectators injured, none was seriously hurt, Poulsen said. In fact, they were all treated by emergency medical professionals at the scene and released.
Throughout the festival, at least seven small fires, about 10 feet in diameter, were spotted following the accident. Poulsen said they were quickly put out by firefighters.
A local fireworks expert told KSL News aerial shells fall short when the timing fuse isn't long enough or there is not enough gunpowder in the firework. The cause of this explosion remained under investigation Sunday night.
Poulsen said crowds were asked to sit 375 feet away from the display. Next year, spectators will be moved back another 500 feet, he said.
