Devon Staples made a living making children laugh. At Disney World in Orlando, he played Gaston and Goofy.
He was 22 and from Calais, a small city in Maine right on the border with Canada. On the night of Saturday, July 4, 2015, he was in a friend’s backyard, surrounded by fireworks and drinks.
According to state police, he picked up a mortar and placed it on his head. His friends thought they had convinced him not to do it. The next thing they knew, he lit it. The device exploded, and Devon died instantly.
His mother, Kathleen, doesn’t describe a tragedy caused by recklessness. She describes a joke. She acknowledges that her son had been drinking, but says he thought the firework was a dud, one that wouldn’t explode anymore.
His brother Cody, who was there, described it as a freak accident. He said Devon pretended to do silly things to make people laugh.
It was the first fireworks-related death in Maine since the state legalized them on January 1, 2012.
Kathleen called for stricter controls: licensing and training for anyone handling them.
The man who made children laugh died making his friends laugh.
