SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Authorities say a man lost his hand after lighting a fireworks shell he found while cleaning the parking lot near South Bend's zoo.
South Bend police say two men picking up litter as community service for the state Department of Correction found the shell Monday morning before the Potawatomi Zoo opened for the day. The explosion badly injured a 25-year-old's man and slightly injured a 21-year-old man.
South Bend Re-entry Center Superintendent Charles Bowen says the two men are near the end of their sentences and that the center has had inmates doing community service work at the zoo for 20 years.
Bowen says the injuries were unfortunate and point to the dangers of lighting unfamiliar fireworks.
