[RocketsNW] Man hospitalized after homemade rocket explodes

[Robert Nech]

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2010/02/sledding_fail_clarkston_man_ho.html


Sledding fail: Independence Township man hospitalized after homemade rocket explodes


By Jonathan Oosting | MLive.com 
February 01, 2010, 1:40PM



Calling to mind any number of Home Improvement episodes, police say a 62-year-old Independence Township man was hospitalized Sunday after strapping a homemade rocket to his back while sledding.

Fox 2 reports the rocket -- a combination of gunpowder, match heads and gasoline stuffed in a motorcycle muffler -- exploded during a downhill ride at a party he hosted.

“Apparently, he has this sledding party every year, and he always does outrageous things at it, but he’s never blown himself up before,” Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe told the Detroit Free Press.

As you might imagine, authorities believe alcohol played a role, but no charges have been filed as the investigation continues. 

The Oakland Press reports the man suffered second-degree burns on 18 percent of his body and is in stable condition at POH Regional Medical Center.

Fox 2 has a photo gallery of the accident remnants, but unfortunately no known video exists. If it did, we imagine it would look something like this: