A sixth person died Wednesday morning after suffering critical injuries at an Aliamanu New Year’s party when a stockpile of
illegal aerial fireworks detonated at 12:01 a.m. in an explosion that also injured dozens.
At about 5:59 a.m. Wednesday , the 30-year-old woman died at a local hospital. She is the “sixth death in this incident,” according to Honolulu police, and has not been identified.
The woman died the same day state lawmakers held hearings on several proposals designed to help law
enforcement combat the proliferation of illegal aerial fireworks.
Gov. Josh Green proposes issuing $300 citations to those caught with illegal fireworks and felony charges for fireworks incidents that lead to injuries or death.
House Bill 1005 and Senate Bill 1324 would make selling illegal fireworks that injure or kill someone a Class B felony with up to
10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The bills also call for enhanced penalties and new legal language aimed at easing “the
standard of proof” to allow citations and make enforcement easier.
A bill before the state Senate, Senate Bill 999, would repeal “all permissible uses of consumer fireworks” and make conforming amendments to the Fireworks
Control Law. The measure establishes $500 civil penalties for the “use and sale of consumer fireworks,” including nuisance abatement proceedings and forfeiture of assets used in the commission of the illegal use or sale of consumer fireworks.
The bill would set up a Firework Forfeiture Special Fund to deposit “asset forfeiture proceeds” and to provide for community “safety education” programs that would ban all consumer fireworks by
prohibiting their sale and use.
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.
On Friday afternoon, four more parents were arrested after they allegedly let their minor children set off illegal fireworks at the Aliamanu house party.
A total of 10 people have now been arrested in connection with the deadliest fireworks explosion in Hawaii since April 7, 2011.
In that incident, four people were killed and two were injured after a fire
ignited confiscated illegal aerial fireworks in an underground former military munitions bunker in Waikele.
Demi Alyssa Mendoza, 31, and Dao Rin, 32, were
arrested on suspicion of first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and three fireworks offenses.
The couple allegedly
allowed their 9- and 11-year-old children to play with illegal fireworks, according to Honolulu police.
Michael Jr. Reyes Cabato, 29, and Aidalys Britanee P. Pe Benito, 28, the parents of a 1-year-old, were also
arrested.
Cabato was arrested on suspicion of endangering the welfare of a minor and three fireworks offenses, and the 28-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of endangering the welfare of a minor.
None of the children of the parents arrested Friday were wounded in the deadly blast.
A “cake” filled with about 50 individual cartridges of aerial fireworks fell on its side and shot into two crates of fireworks, setting off a large explosion at about 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1 that was recorded by eyewitnesses and drones, shared online and broadcast on television.
More arrests, charges and a joint investigation with federal law enforcement agencies into the source of the illegal fireworks are ongoing. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would be among the federal agencies assisting HPD, police have said.
Investigators seized more than 500 pounds of unexploded illegal fireworks from cars belonging to guests attending the party and in the carport of the home where the blast occurred at 4144 Keaka Drive.
Four people arrested on Jan. 29 were released pending investigation.