CALAIS, Maine (MyFoxBoston.com) — The man who died after trying to launch a firework off his head over the weekend in Maine used to work at Walt Disney World, according to multiple news outlets.
Devon Staples, 22, of Calais, Maine, was drinking at a party Saturday celebrating the Fourth of July when he lit a fireworks mortar tube on his head. He died instantly.
"When he suggested he was going to do this, his friends gathered around him and they thought they had convinced him not to do it," Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland told the Bangor Daily News.
But Staples' brother, Cody, who witnessed the incident, told the New York Daily News that Devon was just holding a lighter near the fireworks, causing them to accidentally fire.
"Devon was not the kind of person who would do something stupid," he said. "He was the kind of person who would pretend to do something stupid to make people laugh."
According to the Daily News, Devon Staples used to work at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where he dressed as characters and entertained kids.
"He loved it," Cody Staples said. "He loved making people happy. Anyone who would want to give a tribute to Devon should go out and do something nice for someone."
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Cox Media Group
