WASHINGTON CO., Pa. — A man who nearly lost his life while setting off modified fireworks in Washington County on the Fourth of July spoke publicly for the first time about that day two years later.
“It took a while for me to even start thinking about life. Everything was over,” said Matthew Subetich.
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His accident was so traumatic that he is leaving town this weekend in favor of a secluded place to avoid hearing fireworks on Independence Day.
On July 4, 2018, Subetich was setting off fireworks with modified mortar tubes when everything went wrong.
“I used the wrong sized mortar. It was too powerful for it. It was not prepared for what I was doing,” he said.
Subetich told Channel 11′s Michele Newell he was way too close to the fireworks when they were set off. Before he could even react, he said it exploded -- causing traumatic injuries, including needing his thumb amputated.
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“(It was) maybe 6-10 inches away from my face when it exploded,” Subetich said. “Before the accident, I was a proud, hardworking guy. Now, it’s just trying to read instructions for cooking noodles -- it’s ridiculous.”
Subetich wants others to avoid what happened to him. He warned people to just follow the instructions and don’t modify anything.
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