Crash causes fireworks to explode inside car in St. Paul, hindering aid to driver who died

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A single-vehicle crash in St. Paul turned explosive Sunday night when fireworks inside the car ignited, hindering aid to the driver, who was killed.

The crash happened near Wilson Avenue and Howard Street around 9 p.m., the St. Paul Police Department said.

A driver who was likely speeding left the road and hit a tree and light pole, causing the car to catch fire, police said. Then, fireworks inside the car began to explode, making it hard to reach the driver.

No other people or vehicles were involved. The deceased man has not been publicly identified.

The crash is being investigated.

Many fireworks are not legal in Minnesota

The better portion of fireworks are not actually legal in Minnesota , though often people cross over into Wisconsin to purchase them.

The following firework types are legal in Minnesota:

• Wire or wood sparklers: No more than 100 grams of mixture per item.
• Other sparkling items: Nonexplosive and nonaerial and contain 75 grams or less of chemical mixture per tube or a total of 500 grams or less for multiple tubes and include: fountains, ground spinners, illuminating torch, wheel, flash strobe.
• Novelty items: Snakes and glow worms, smoke devices or trick noisemakers which include paper streamers, party poppers, string poppers, snappers and drop pops, each consisting of not more than twenty-five hundredths grains of explosive mixture.

Essentially, if the fireworks stay on the ground and don't explode, they're legal in Minnesota.