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Man Killed in Cannon Explosion
Bethel, Vermont - July 3, 2006
A holiday tradition turned deadly in Bethel. Colby Madden, 20, was killed Saturday when several families gathered to set off a homemade cannon.
"The rear portion of the cannon exploded and sent shrapnel quite a distance to either side of the cannon and the victim was hit by some of the shrapnel and died from the injuries sustained," explained Vt. State Police Sgt. Todd Ellingsworth.
Police say the cannon was two years old, and had been shot hundreds of times. The accident happened at a home, but police will not say exactly where.
Vermont's Own WCAX Channel 3 News[url] http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=5110436&nav=4QcS[/url]
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Pipe Cannon Bursts, Kills Bethel Man
Bystander 30 Feet Away Hit by Metal Fragments
By Carolyn Lorié
Valley News Staff Writer
Bethel -- Colby Caleb Madden, a 20-year-old Bethel man, was killed Saturday when a three-foot-long, homemade steel-pipe cannon exploded, hitting him in the neck and wrist.
Another person, whom police declined to name, received minor injuries.
Detective Sgt. Todd Illingworth of the Vermont State Police called the explosion a “tragic accident” and said it was under investigation. The cannon had been firing “wooden dowels,” Illingworth said. No arrests have been made.
Madden was a 2004 graduate of Whitcomb High School in Bethel and lived with his family. “He was just an absolutely awesome and very much loved person,” said his mother, Pamela Drury, by telephone yesterday.
The accident occurred in Bethel near 1720 MacIntosh Hill Road, the home of Randy and Pam Trask. Madden worked with Randy and his son, Mike Trask, on various carpentry jobs. According to Pam Trask, a group of friends gathered in a nearby field on Saturday afternoon to fire the cannon, which belonged to someone in the group, whose identity she would not disclose. She said she heard a second shot a short time after the first, then someone from the group knocked on her door and reported that an ambulance had been called for Madden, who was hurt.
Trask said she drove to the field, where she found Madden unconscious and bleeding from the wrist, neck and mouth. She said she was told that Madden had been standing about 30 feet from the cannon. An ambulance rushed Madden to Gifford Medical Center in Randolph, where he was pronounced dead at 1:30 p.m.
“It is the worst thing that ever happened to any of us,” said Trask.
Illingworth said the cannon was made of steel pipe about 2 inches in diameter, and that when the rear of the device exploded, fragments shot out in a 30-foot radius.
Hartford Fire Department Lt. Chris Dube said that, although he has never dealt with anyone being injured by a homemade cannon, he hears about such cases every year. “The people who make them are probably not qualified to make something of that magnitude,” he said. “That's stuff you don't play with. It’s extremely dangerous to begin with, and even more so when it’s homemade.”
Nonfatal injuries related to fireworks are rising, according to an analysis by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which last week released figures showing an estimated 10,800 children and adults were treated for fireworks-related injuries last year, up from 9,600 in 2004.
Fifty-five percent of those were under 20; most injuries also occurred on the Fourth of July. Thirty-six people were killed by fireworks between 2000 and 2005, the commission said.
Trask said Madden was an expert on classic cars, an avid dirt bike rider and a “free spirit, who did whatever he wanted to do.”
Whitcomb Principal Bill Elberty remembered Madden as an independent student and steadfast friend. “He was a pretty incredible young man,” said Elberty.
Elberty recalled that Madden, during his sophomore year, worked 40 hours a week in construction, in addition to his schooling, and while he sometimes struggled to sit still in the classroom, he was “extremely bright and capable.”
Elberty and Trask said Madden also was devoted to his family, which includes two brothers, Matthew and Jordan, and a sister, Carrisa. When Madden's older brother, Matthew, was injured in truck accident in November 2004, Madden did what he could to support his family through the difficult period, Elberty and Trask said.
Madden is also survived by his father, John Madden of North Hartland.
Valley News staff writer Peter Jamison and THE ASSOCIATED PRESS contributed to the report.
[url] http://www.vnews.com/07042006/3181740.htm[/url]
Bethel, Vermont - July 3, 2006
A holiday tradition turned deadly in Bethel. Colby Madden, 20, was killed Saturday when several families gathered to set off a homemade cannon.
"The rear portion of the cannon exploded and sent shrapnel quite a distance to either side of the cannon and the victim was hit by some of the shrapnel and died from the injuries sustained," explained Vt. State Police Sgt. Todd Ellingsworth.
Police say the cannon was two years old, and had been shot hundreds of times. The accident happened at a home, but police will not say exactly where.
Vermont's Own WCAX Channel 3 News[url] http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=5110436&nav=4QcS[/url]
===========================================================================
Pipe Cannon Bursts, Kills Bethel Man
Bystander 30 Feet Away Hit by Metal Fragments
By Carolyn Lorié
Valley News Staff Writer
Bethel -- Colby Caleb Madden, a 20-year-old Bethel man, was killed Saturday when a three-foot-long, homemade steel-pipe cannon exploded, hitting him in the neck and wrist.
Another person, whom police declined to name, received minor injuries.
Detective Sgt. Todd Illingworth of the Vermont State Police called the explosion a “tragic accident” and said it was under investigation. The cannon had been firing “wooden dowels,” Illingworth said. No arrests have been made.
Madden was a 2004 graduate of Whitcomb High School in Bethel and lived with his family. “He was just an absolutely awesome and very much loved person,” said his mother, Pamela Drury, by telephone yesterday.
The accident occurred in Bethel near 1720 MacIntosh Hill Road, the home of Randy and Pam Trask. Madden worked with Randy and his son, Mike Trask, on various carpentry jobs. According to Pam Trask, a group of friends gathered in a nearby field on Saturday afternoon to fire the cannon, which belonged to someone in the group, whose identity she would not disclose. She said she heard a second shot a short time after the first, then someone from the group knocked on her door and reported that an ambulance had been called for Madden, who was hurt.
Trask said she drove to the field, where she found Madden unconscious and bleeding from the wrist, neck and mouth. She said she was told that Madden had been standing about 30 feet from the cannon. An ambulance rushed Madden to Gifford Medical Center in Randolph, where he was pronounced dead at 1:30 p.m.
“It is the worst thing that ever happened to any of us,” said Trask.
Illingworth said the cannon was made of steel pipe about 2 inches in diameter, and that when the rear of the device exploded, fragments shot out in a 30-foot radius.
Hartford Fire Department Lt. Chris Dube said that, although he has never dealt with anyone being injured by a homemade cannon, he hears about such cases every year. “The people who make them are probably not qualified to make something of that magnitude,” he said. “That's stuff you don't play with. It’s extremely dangerous to begin with, and even more so when it’s homemade.”
Nonfatal injuries related to fireworks are rising, according to an analysis by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which last week released figures showing an estimated 10,800 children and adults were treated for fireworks-related injuries last year, up from 9,600 in 2004.
Fifty-five percent of those were under 20; most injuries also occurred on the Fourth of July. Thirty-six people were killed by fireworks between 2000 and 2005, the commission said.
Trask said Madden was an expert on classic cars, an avid dirt bike rider and a “free spirit, who did whatever he wanted to do.”
Whitcomb Principal Bill Elberty remembered Madden as an independent student and steadfast friend. “He was a pretty incredible young man,” said Elberty.
Elberty recalled that Madden, during his sophomore year, worked 40 hours a week in construction, in addition to his schooling, and while he sometimes struggled to sit still in the classroom, he was “extremely bright and capable.”
Elberty and Trask said Madden also was devoted to his family, which includes two brothers, Matthew and Jordan, and a sister, Carrisa. When Madden's older brother, Matthew, was injured in truck accident in November 2004, Madden did what he could to support his family through the difficult period, Elberty and Trask said.
Madden is also survived by his father, John Madden of North Hartland.
Valley News staff writer Peter Jamison and THE ASSOCIATED PRESS contributed to the report.
[url] http://www.vnews.com/07042006/3181740.htm[/url]
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