Selfless act: Teenager hospitalized after protecting children from malfunctioning fireworks

Hunter Donahue, a Greenwood resident, suffered third- and fourth-degree burns to 30 percent of his body after a firework misfired on July 6. Donahue was protecting a group of young children from the explosion when a mortar round misfired and ignited a large amount of fireworks. He reportedly burned for several minutes after the explosion, which burned his clothing and fused it to his skin, requiring skin grafts and surgery. PHOTOS COURTESY OF | AMANDA DONAHUE

When Greenwood resident Hunter Donahue celebrated America’s freedom and independence with friends, he had no idea that the annual Fourth of July gathering would change his life.

According to Hunter’s mother, Amanda, a fireworks malfunction at the July 6 event resulted in Hunter suffering third- and fourth-degree burns on more than 30 percent of his body.

“Hunter was helping with the fireworks, and something happened to one of the mortars they were firing,” Amanda said. “Instead of going 20 feet in the air like it was supposed to, it came out of the chute and exploded immediately. With the other mortars in the tubs nearby, it set off a chain reaction.”

Since the event was very well attended, Hunter’s protective instincts arose. When loud explosions were heard in the crowd, Hunter shielded a group of children from the blast with his body, causing some of the grenades to hit him in the back and head.

“When they first realized something was wrong, everyone started running,” Amanda said. “Hunter’s first thought was for the little kids who had come back to get fireworks from them – he didn’t want to hurt them. At one point he was lying on the ground waiting for the explosions to stop. They slowed down so he tried to get up and run towards the house, but then he realized he was on fire.”

While attendees attempted to extinguish the flames, Amanda – who was not at the event – ​​received phone calls informing her of the situation.

“I was actually talking to someone at another rally and ignored Hunter’s call twice because I thought he was calling because he was supposed to meet us that night,” she said. “My daughter Savannah came to me and told me I had to pick up the phone because Hunter was hurt and bleeding and burned. There was a lot of crying and screaming. A friend took the phone from him and told me he was hurt and an ambulance was on the way.”

Hunter suffered severe burns on his left side, including his leg, back, shoulder and chest. He also had other burns all over his body, including areas where his T-shirt and blue jeans had fused to his skin.

“He had burns all over him and was covered in ash,” Amanda said. “He was very uncomfortable and kept saying his skin was burning or that he was burning.”

After arriving at the scene, Wise County EMS attempted to send a rescue helicopter to the scene. However, the helicopter was unable to land due to the large crowds and fireworks in the area. Hunter was transported by ambulance to the helipad in Medical City Decatur and later flown to the burn unit in Medical City Plano.

Hunter underwent surgery to clean his wounds on July 9 and received several cadaveric skin grafts. He was released from the hospital two days later.

“The burn surgeon told me it was the worst case they’d seen this season,” Amanda said. “Right now they’re anticipating he’ll need at least one more surgery, if not more.”

Despite her son’s injuries, Amanda said she was proud of Hunter for protecting the young children at the event.

“With Hunter, it doesn’t surprise me that he puts others first because he has a very loving and generous soul,” she said. “He has always been the emotional, loving person in our household. He has seen the children that were there that night grow up, is very attached to them and makes sure they are well taken care of – he is very good with children.”

Due to his injuries, Hunter is currently unable to work or maintain his active lifestyle.

“He’s struggling with it,” Amanda said. “He’s a very outgoing, social person – he loves going to work, going to the gym, playing basketball with everyone for long periods of time every night. But right now he can’t go anywhere without risking infection in these open areas… I think he’s going to learn a lot about patience through this. We’re going into his younger brother’s senior year in football and we don’t know if he’ll be able to go to games because he can’t sweat. It’s going to be a challenge for him, but I think he’ll get through it and it won’t stop him from pursuing a career as a welder or any other goals he has in mind.”

Amanda is grateful that her son is still alive and believes the incident has increased her awareness of fireworks safety.

“There’s never a foolproof plan when it comes to dealing with explosives,” she said. “They’re fireworks, but they’re basically mini bombs. My son looks like he’s been in a fight… It’s really important to keep a good distance between (fireworks) and the audience and to wear appropriate clothing when setting them off. You should always have a bucket of water with you so you can completely extinguish something after you’ve lit it. And you should take your time – if you’re fooling around and going fast, you’re being careless and not paying attention.”

Click here to donate to Hunter’s recovery.