Waukegan man suffers severe traumatic facial injury while lighting fireworks

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WAUKEGAN, Illinois - A man suffered a severe traumatic face injury in Waukegan while lighting off fireworks on Saturday night.

The man, who is in his 20s, was shooting off fireworks around 10 p.m. at a home on North County Street. He was hit in the face with a mortar-type firework, the fire department said.

He was first taken to Vista East Medical Center and then flown by helicopter to Lutheran General Hospital.

"Everyone needs to be extremely careful when using legal fireworks," said Waukegan Fire Marshal Todd Zupec in a press release. "Fireworks not approved for consumers should never be used in the City of Waukegan."