Teen blows off hands in fireworks accident, family says it was more like a homemade bomb with metal shrapnel inside

WARNING: Some of the content in this story is graphic and may be disturbing to some readers.

A Missouri teenager is beginning a long recovery after what his family first understood as a fireworks accident left him with devastating injuries, while his friend remains hospitalized with severe damage to his eyes and hands.

FOX4 News Kansas City reporter Regan Porter said 17-year-old Carter Grabowski, of Richmond, walked out of Children’s Mercy Hospital on Monday for the first time in more than 10 days after an explosion that his family says was far more dangerous than an ordinary firework.

According to Porter’s report, Carter said the device exploded in his hands while he and his friend Preston were trying to light it at a friend’s house. Carter lost his right hand and several fingers on his left, while Preston suffered severe injuries, including ruptured eardrums, damage to both eyes, and shattered fingers.

The family’s warning now is simple, but it carries the weight of what happened: if you do not know exactly where a firework came from, and if something about it feels unsafe, it is not worth touching.

A Teen Walks Out Of The Hospital Grateful To Be Alive

Porter reported from Children’s Mercy Hospital, where Carter was released after more than a week of treatment, and the first thing that stood out was not anger but gratitude.

“All I saw was white, and I couldn’t hear,” Carter told FOX4, describing the moment the device exploded. “I just kind of died for a second, is what it felt like.”

That kind of statement is chilling because it captures how sudden these accidents are. One moment can turn an ordinary day with friends into a medical emergency that changes the rest of someone’s life, and there is rarely time for a second thought once the fuse, or whatever ignition source is involved, becomes part of the equation.

Carter’s mother, Jamie Grabowski, told Porter that when the family first walked in to see him, her son immediately apologized.

“As soon as we walked in, he said, ‘Mom, I’m so sorry; my hands are gone,’” Jamie said. “I said, ‘Buddy, you’re alive; none of this was your fault.’”

Carter also tried to focus on survival rather than only on what he lost, saying he has been trying to keep his mind on “the positive” instead of the negative.

“I could be dead,” he said, adding that while he is not happy about what happened, he is grateful it was not worse.

That kind of perspective is remarkable from a teenager who has every reason to feel overwhelmed. At the same time, it should not take away from the severity of what he is facing, because surviving is only the beginning of the recovery process.

What Happened At The Friend’s House

According to Porter’s report, Carter was at a friend’s house when he and Preston found a couple of fireworks. Carter said they attempted to light one that had a short wick, but the device exploded before they believed it had fully ignited.

“I kind of got ready to throw it, but it went away,” Carter said. “So, we held it again. And we were trying to light it, but it wasn’t lit at all. It wasn’t red, and it just went off, not even lit.”

Jamie said the family believes the object was not a standard consumer firework but something more like a homemade pipe bomb, with metal shrapnel inside.

“There seemed to be metal shrapnel inside of them,” she told Porter. Jamie said she did not know whether whoever made the device considered it an experiment, but she said no one warned the teens that it was homemade before it changed hands and eventually reached Carter.

That detail matters because fireworks are already dangerous when they are legally made, properly labeled, and used according to instructions. When a device is homemade, altered, or passed around without clear information about what is inside, the danger becomes impossible for a teenager, or really anyone, to judge.

This is where accountability becomes important. If investigators determine the device was built or modified by someone else, the question will not only be how the boys were injured, but how something that dangerous ended up in their hands in the first place.

Preston’s Injuries And A Hospital Reunion

Porter reported that Preston remains at the University of Kansas Health System, where he is still recovering from serious injuries.

Carter said Preston suffered two ruptured eardrums, lost a thumb, and had several fingers shattered. He also said the metal fragments badly injured Preston’s face and eyes.

While Carter had sunglasses on that day, Preston did not, a difference that may have mattered greatly once the device exploded.

“He’s not doing the best,” Carter said of his friend. “The metal shrapnel that was in the bomb, or whatever you want to call it, got his face bad and his eyeballs.”

After Carter was released from Children’s Mercy, Porter reported, his first stop was not home. He went to surprise Preston in his hospital room.

That reunion says a lot about the bond between the two teens and the shared trauma they are now carrying. They were both hurt in the same blast, but in different ways, and both families are now facing weeks, months, and possibly years of surgeries, therapy, and adjustment.

For Carter, the physical recovery will be difficult and practical in ways many people do not think about until they are forced to. He told Porter that everyday life, including getting dressed and using the restroom, is going to be difficult.

That is the part of these stories that often gets missed. The explosion lasts seconds, but the consequences show up in every ordinary task afterward.

Surgeries, Prosthetics And A New Normal

Carter’s recovery plan is already moving forward. Porter reported that he had surgery scheduled for Wednesday for a skin graft, and doctors plan to take one of his toes and attach it in a way that can function like a thumb.

In about six weeks, Carter could also receive a prosthetic for his other hand.

Those procedures are medically impressive, but they also show just how serious the injuries are. This is not a case of burns that will simply heal with time; it is a life-changing injury that will require Carter to relearn basic routines and adapt to a new way of moving through the world.

His mother said the family is grateful, but that gratitude does not erase the burden ahead. It is possible to be thankful someone survived and still be devastated by what survival now requires.

Carter’s attitude, at least in Porter’s report, appears to be grounded in that same balance. He knows his life has changed, but he is also alive, supported, and already thinking about recovery.

A Warning About Fireworks That Change Hands

The Grabowski family used the interview to issue a warning about fireworks, especially ones that do not come directly from a legitimate stand or tent.

“If it doesn’t seem worth it, don’t do it,” Carter said.

Jamie added that the device “changed so many hands,” which made it harder to know where it came from or what it really was. She said that unless fireworks are coming directly from a legitimate source, people should be extremely careful, and even then, fireworks can still be frighteningly dangerous.

“Not worth the risk,” she said.

That warning should be taken seriously, especially as warm weather and summer celebrations approach. Homemade or altered fireworks are not just bigger versions of legal fireworks; they can behave unpredictably, explode early, throw fragments, and cause injuries closer to what people associate with explosive devices than backyard celebrations.

The word “firework” can make something sound familiar and manageable, but what Carter’s family describes is a reminder that not every object passed around as a firework deserves that name.

Investigation And Community Support

Porter reported that Carter thanked the community for supporting him and his friend. The family started a GoFundMe page for the teens, and a friend also began a T-shirt fundraiser to help both families through the recovery process.

That support will likely matter well beyond the first few weeks, because medical bills, follow-up care, travel, missed work, therapy, and adaptive equipment can become overwhelming quickly.

Porter also reported that the Missouri Department of Public Safety said its Division of Fire Safety is joining the investigation after a request from the Richmond Fire Department. The division was not able to investigate the immediate scene, but it is looking into the events that led up to the explosion.

According to the report, officials believe several jurisdictions may be involved beyond the location where the blast happened, and the investigation remains ongoing.

For now, two teenagers are healing from injuries that never should have happened, and their families are trying to make sense of a device they believe was far more dangerous than a normal firework.

Carter’s warning is the one that should stay with people: if it does not seem worth it, do not do it. In this case, a few seconds with an unknown explosive device cost one teen his hands, left another with severe injuries, and gave two families a lesson no one should have to learn this way.