Devon Staples, Disney World ‘Gaston,’ Killed In Fireworks Accident On Independence Day

Devon Staples, the Disney World Gaston, was tragically killed In a fireworks accident on Saturday night, Independence Day. The Fourth of July, a great celebration for Americans, ended up being the day a young man lost his Life. According to the New York Daily News, the man who was killed in a firework accident in Maine was a former Orlando resident who worked as a performer at Disney World.

Devon Staples, 22, of Calais, Maine, died instantly of a fatal head injury when a firework that was held near his head went off accidentally while he was holding a lighter, his brother Cody Staples said.

According to Associated Press, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety reported that Devon Staples and his friends had been drinking and setting off fireworks Saturday night in the backyard of a friend’s home in the small eastern Maine city of Calais. His death is the first fireworks-related fatality in Maine since the state legalized fireworks on Jan. 1, 2012.

According to Daily News the incident was “a freak accident. But Devon was not the kind of person who would do something stupid. He was the kind of person who would pretend to do something stupid to make people laugh.”

Cody, the brother of the deceased, said his brother worked at Walt Disney World as a character performer. Devon was listed as living on Oak Park Way near Lake Frederica for part of 2014, according to public records.

“When he suggested he was going to do this, his friends gathered around him and they thought they had convinced him not to do it. But before they could react, Staples set off the explosive,” McCausland said.

The fatality was the first reported since fireworks became legal in Maine in 2012. Fireworks sales in the state through May, 2015, totaled $20.3 million, officials said. The incident was among several Fourth of July fireworks mishaps reported. Other incidents occurred in Friendship, Jefferson, Lebanon, and Woodstock and involved burns and eye injuries, McCausland said.

In Lincoln, a garage was damaged when remains from expended fireworks ignited Saturday night. The burned materials had been placed in a cardboard box in a trash pile outside a garage on William Street. No injuries were reported, Lincoln police said.

Devon Staples death will remain in the memories of his dear friends. Every Fourth Of July, a day when many Americans celebrate their Independence, may end up being the day of mourning for the friends of Devon Staple.

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