A 29-year-old man critically injured Jan. 1 when a stockpile of illegal aerial fireworks detonated in an Aliamanu home died Tuesday morning at a hospital in
Arizona.
Kevin Vallesteros died at 6:42 a.m. Hawaii time. He is the fifth fatality tied to the explosion at a house party at 4144 Keaka Drive. His girlfriend, Melissa Cabrera, is being treated in Arizona for the injuries she suffered in the blast.
Vallesteros was in an induced medical coma before his death, according to a
GoFundMe page set up to pay for his medical care, and was receiving treatment for burns over 82% of his body and a compound fracture in his left leg.
He was intubated and breathing with the help of a ventilator before he died.
Carmelita Benigno, 61,
Nelie Ibarra, 58, and Jennifer Van, 23, died in the blast at 12:01 a.m. New Year’s Day. Cassius Ramos-Benigno, 3, died Jan. 6 at the hospital.
Benigno was the grandmother of Ramos-Benigno, and Ibarra was the child’s great-aunt. Benigno’s son
Junior and her daughter Charmaine Benigno were among the six people flown to an Arizona burn center.
Ramos-Benigno was the only child taken by ambulance to a hospital. Thirteen ambulances transported
21 people to hospitals, 19 of them in critical condition with burns.
Six of the severely injured patients, including the 29-year-old who died Tuesday, were transported by U.S. Department of Defense aircraft to the Arizona Burn Center- Valleywise Health, at the request of Gov. Josh Green, a family practice physician and emergency room doctor.
On Friday afternoon Honolulu police arrested Opens in a new tab a 33-year-old mother and a 33-year-old father in
connection with the Aliamanu fireworks explosion.
Ruben T. Mateo and Jewel Ann Quines Cabras were arrested at 4144 Keaka Drive on suspicion of first-degree reckless endangering, first-
degree endangering the welfare of a minor and three fireworks offenses.
They were released pending investigation. Police have said more arrests are expected in the case.
The couple allegedly let their three kids, ages 15,
10 and 1, ignite illegal fireworks. The youngest child was wounded during the blast and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment before being released.
No charges have been filed by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney as of Monday morning.
“The case is still under investigation by our office,” read a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser from the department.
Detectives determined that shortly after midnight Jan. 1, a person who was
attending the party lit an
aerial cake on the driveway leading to the carport.
The “cake,” filled with about 50 individual cartridges of aerial fireworks, fell on its side and shot into two crates storing stacks of cake fireworks, setting off a large explosion that was recorded by drone footage and eyewitnesses and shared on social media platforms.
The injuries included impalements with shards of glass and pieces of wood, fractures, concussive blast injuries and ruptured
eardrums.
The fifth death from the Aliamanu explosion was
announced a day after a 27-year-old woman was
seriously injured after a firework exploded in Waianae.
Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to the incident on Halona Road at about 9:30 p.m. Monday night, treating the woman for multiple shrapnel
injuries to her arms, legs and chest.
She was transported in serious condition to a trauma center, with paramedics providing advanced life support en route.
Authorities said the
injuries appeared to have occurred after the woman ignited the firework herself. Specifics about the incident or the type of firework that blew up were not immediately made public.
Data from the state Department of Health Opens in a new tab details an increase in fireworks injuries from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1. There were 110 injuries requiring emergency medical care, including the Aliamanu casualties, occurred statewide during the New Year’s holiday 2024-2025, compared with 29 a decade earlier in 2014-2015, according to the state Department of Health.
State lawmakers banned all aerial fireworks in 2000, except for official public displays. The Honolulu City Council banned all fireworks except for firecrackers in 2011.
