A Buena Park man ignited illegal fireworks that killed an 8-year-old girl. He now faces felony charges - BERITAJA

A Buena Park man was charged pinch felony crimes Wednesday successful the decease of an 8-year-old woman who was fatally injured erstwhile the man ignited a $400 forbidden firework, sparking an detonation astatine a July Fourth statement past year, according to prosecutors.

Earl Decastro, 47, was charged pinch involuntary manslaughter, unlawfully causing occurrence pinch awesome bodily wounded and the forbidden possession of much than 100 pounds of vulnerable fireworks, according to the Orange County territory attorney’s office. Decastro faces up to a maximum of six years successful authorities situation if convicted of each charges, prosecutors said.

In mentation for the July Fourth festivities past year, authorities claim, Decastro bought some ineligible and forbidden fireworks to ray astatine a statement connected the thoroughfare successful beforehand of his home. His purchases included an forbidden $400 firework “cake” that he bought from an “unlicensed seller which contained master people explosives that require a licence aliases licence to buy, store, carrier aliases use,” the territory attorney’s agency said successful a news release.

At the party, Decastro spent complete an hr shooting disconnected fireworks successful the street, yet igniting the $400 firework. The woman was pinch her family and sitting adjacent to a covered array that had “additional unspent fireworks,” according to the news release.

When Decastro lighted the forbidden firework arsenic a portion of the expansive finale, it malfunctioned and “shot aerial mortar shells into the driveway wherever the partygoers were gathered to watch the ‘show,’” prosecutors said.

Many partygoers escaped the detonation erstwhile the shells deed the array pinch the unspent explosives, but the 8-year-old did not, according to the news release. The woman was pronounced dormant astatine UC Irvine Medical Center, contempt the efforts of first responders who arrived soon aft the blast, the news merchandise said.

“There is thing accidental about buying and lighting forbidden fireworks,” Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said successful the news release. “An eight-year-old small woman is dormant and the man who killed her is going to beryllium held responsible. A fewer seconds of nosy is not worthy a life of trauma and the nonaccomplishment of a beautiful small woman who ne'er had the chance to turn up.”