A Fourth of July fireworks gathering in California turned deadly when a cache of pyrotechnics exploded near a vehicle, leaving a young woman dead and four others injured, including a child.
Chino police were first sent out around 8:30 p.m. Saturday for what came in as a vehicle-fire call.
When officers reached the scene, they found a burning vehicle and multiple victims with serious injuries.
The department’s early explanation to KTLA centered on a large fireworks stockpile.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, detectives believe a large quantity of fireworks ignited, causing an explosion,” police told the outlet.
Three adults and a child were taken to local hospitals after the blast. The woman later died from her injuries, while two other adults were expected to survive. Police said the child was released to a parent or guardian.
The scene unfolded in front of stunned neighbors who described people running after the explosion.
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Gabriel Gilmore, told ABC7 that a crowd had gathered in the street for what appeared to be an unsanctioned fireworks display before some of the fireworks detonated at a dangerously low height.
Gilmore said he had been inside his mother’s house when the blast sent him rushing outside.
“It clearly looked like there was a bunch of illegal fireworks in the trunk,” Gilmore told the outlet.
“I don’t know how the trunk got lit up, but obviously, you could see from the video that the hatch was busted open and that was where the point of the explosion was.”
Investigators later detained Derion Tradon James Jr., a 28-year-old Hesperia resident.
Multiple people are injured after a serious fireworks accident in Chino on the Fourth of July.
A witness said a large group of people was gathered in the street for a fireworks display when some of the fireworks exploded too close to the ground. Video shows people scattering as… pic.twitter.com/wMJDgqpQiw
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) July 5, 2026
He was booked at the West Valley Detention Center on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter, KTLA reported.
James was being held on $50,000 bail and was expected to make his first court appearance Thursday.
Video showed people fleeing as the vehicle burned. The outlet also captured the damage left behind after the explosion and fire.
The danger did not end once the flames were out. Officers and firefighters stayed at the scene Sunday to make sure the area was safe and to check for any unexploded fireworks, scattered wreckage and other potential risks, Victor Valley News Group reported.
Chino police remain the lead agency in the investigation, with the Chino Valley Fire District assisting.
The Fourth of July danger kept unfolding across the Los Angeles area.
In Wilmington, a parking-lot fire left one man hospitalized in critical condition after multiple vehicles burned, the LA Fire Department reported.
The fire drew crews to an apartment building on Pacific Coast Highway around 8:38 p.m. Friday, where they discovered “what appeared to be potentially dangerous explosives/fireworks” nearby.
An LAPD Bomb Squad review later determined that the items discovered near the damaged vehicles were classified as “commercial-grade fireworks.”
The holiday violence stretched across the country to New York City, where eight people, including four children, were shot while watching Fourth of July fireworks Saturday.
The gunfire broke out around 10:35 p.m. near the Brooklyn waterfront, at 2930 W. 30th Street near Surf Avenue in Coney Island, according to the New York Post.
The outlet reported that a 33-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman were shot in the chest.
A 25-year-old woman and three boys, ages 7, 12 and 14, were also hit. A 6-year-old boy was shot in the stomach, and a 37-year-old man was shot in the shoulder.
The 21-year-old woman was listed in critical condition, according to the New York Post. The other seven victims were taken to area hospitals and reported stable.
Police had not released a suspect, and no arrests had been made as of early Sunday, WABC reported. The investigation remained ongoing.
The city’s Independence Day chaos also reached the Brooklyn Bridge, where a fire ignited during Macy’s fireworks show.
Footage shared on social media captured flames and thick smoke billowing from the bridge over the East River while fireworks continued exploding nearby. The fire was eventually put out at around 10 p.m.
In the Midwest, the Federal Aviation Administration said a fireworks mortar struck a Delta Air Lines flight as it descended into Chicago Midway International Airport on the Fourth of July.
Delta Flight 1076 landed safely around 8:30 p.m. local time after the crew reported the strike, the FAA said.
A Delta spokesperson told Fox News the flight left Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 7:51 p.m. ET and landed at Midway at 8:33 p.m. CT.
“The flight safely landed and taxied to the gate,” the Delta spokesperson said.
Back in California, a separate Independence Day celebration in Folsom nearly ended in disaster when a professional skydiver carrying a huge American flag crashed into a tent at the Folsom Pro Rodeo.
Witness video captured the skydiver descending with the large American flag trailing beneath him before he collided with the tent, prompting people nearby to scatter and shout for assistance.
The accident happened during the kickoff of the rodeo’s three-day event at Dan Russell Arena outside Sacramento.
America 250 is going wellpic.twitter.com/jIy4nWc0Ui
— Robert Skvarla (@RobertSkvarla) July 4, 2026
Rodeo organizers later said the skydiver, identified as Ross, was safe despite the terrifying video.
“On behalf of the Folsom Pro Rodeo and Choose Folsom, our skydiver Ross is safe and walked into our arena, post jump to a standing ovation. He will be skydiving into our arena again tonight, July 3rd!” organizers wrote.
