Teen Loses Hand in Firework Incident

On June 3, a young man in California had a life-altering experience when he lost his right hand while handling a firework. Nader Hanna, who is 18, was celebrating with his twin brother and friends at an In-N-Out Burger parking lot in Pleasanton, just days after finishing high school. A classmate handed him a firework, and after lighting it, he described the explosion as catastrophic, saying it “tore apart” his hand.

“Once I lit it, it exploded in my hand,” Hanna recalls. “I couldn’t even see my hand anymore. It just collapsed.”

The firework, described as large and wrapped in foil, reminded him of Christmas decorations. Hanna suspected it was defective. After the explosion, he noticed the blood and quickly ran to his brother Ramsey and their friends for help.

Although Ramsey wasn’t nearby at the time, he immediately called 911 and scoured the area for pieces of his brother’s hand. “There was a lot of debris. It looked like bits of skin,” he said.

A friend, Kevin Mokashi, described the scene vividly. “It looked like his hands were in a blender. There was just meat and blood everywhere. We were all panicking,” he stated.

Nader was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he came to terms with the gravity of his situation. Surgeons managed to save his wrist, and he is now adapting to using his left hand. Despite this life-changing event, he remains optimistic.

“Can you imagine if that had been my face? My life would be ruined,” he reflected.

Nader isn’t alone in experiencing firework-related injuries. Recently, a mother in Oklahoma lost two fingers after grabbing malfunctioning fireworks from her daughter. Additionally, a 12-year-old boy in Oklahoma suffered serious injuries to his hand and eye due to a mortar-style firework explosion.

Statistics indicate that around 2,000 children in the U.S. require treatment for fireworks injuries each year. Burns are the most common type of injury, but unexpected firework explosions can also lead to severe cuts.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, approximately 13,000 individuals were injured by fireworks in 2025, and 35% of those injuries involved the hands and fingers.