Allen Ray McGrew was a 41-year-old South Carolina dad who died after he placed a firework on his head while dancing in an Uncle Sam suit for the 4th of July, according to The Post and Courier. A tragic video showing McGrew dancing in the Uncle Sam suit has gone viral on social media.
The video shows McGrew was wearing an Uncle Sam suit and smoking a cigarette, as he danced in a yard. You can watch the video below. It does not show his death. Three large fireworks are burning near the curb behind him, the video shows. According to the New York Post, McGrew died when the HVAC worker “put a large, lit firework on top of his stars-and-stripes hat.”
Heavy has reached out to the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office for additional details. The death occurred in Summerville, South Carolina, and McGrew was identified by the coroner as the man who died, according to WECT-TV.
“Rip Allen McGrew you was my best friend … you taught me a lot … you will be so greatly missed,” a man wrote on Facebook.
Allen Ray McGrew Was Discovered Lying in the Road on the 4th of July, Reports Say
WECT-TV cited a report from the Sheriff’s office as saying that McGrew was “attending a neighborhood block party” when the tragedy occurred.
Deputies were called to the scene around 10:20 p.m. on the Fourth of July in a subdivision along Cottonwood Drive, the television station reported.
They found McGrew deceased and lying in the road, according to the television station. McGrew died immediately from “massive head injuries,” due to the firework exploding on his head, the coroner told The Post and Courier.
On July 3, Dorchester County government posted a series of safety tips on Facebook for the 4th of July.
Dorchester CountyFourth of July safety tips from Dorchester County government.
“We’re traumatized,” his son, Hunter McGrew, 20, told The New York Post in an interview. The family told The Post that McGrew was a person who rarely drank alcohol but had made an exception for the July 4 holiday as well as the recent engagement of his son.
The Wife of Allen Ray McGrew Told Deputies He Was Trying to ‘Show Off,’ Reports Say
The Post and Courier reported that McGrew’s wife, Paige McGrew, told sheriff’s deputies that he put the “large firework on his head” because he was trying to “show off” after drinking.
“He was holding this firework over his top hat,” Paige McGrew told The Post and Courier. “I thought he was just showboating before he set it on the ground. I didn’t realize he had already lit it.”
McGrew’s wife told him to stop when “the firework suddenly erupted and he collapsed,” the newspaper reported.
The wife praised her husband as a “patriot” in the interview with the Post and Courier. “Allen loved this holiday,” she said. “He was a patriot; he was proud of his son and he was excited to have a new daughter-in-law. He was living his best life last night,” she told the newspaper.
Paige McGrew also spoke to The Post. “He loved this country and looked forward to celebrating every year,” McGrew’s wife told the Post.
“Just before the incident happened, he hugged me and his son and said ‘You are my rock, and you are my heart,” she recalled. “Me being his rock and his son being his heart.”
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