How a former Disney World performer died shooting fireworks off his head.
Devon Staples, a former Disney World performer, died on Saturday in a freak firework accident during a Fourth of July party in Calais, Maine. Devon Staples was only 22 years old.
Devon Staples played Gaston from “Beauty and the Beast” and Goofy at Disney World. Staples was killed instantly when he attempted to launch fireworks from his head.
“Apparently, he thought that was a great idea,” said Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for Maine’s Department of Public Safety. “His friends said they thought they had dissuaded him from doing it, and the next thing they knew, he ignited the fireworks and he was killed instantly.”
According to the New York Daily News, Devon’s brother Cody Staples revealed that Devon was only joking around with a motor tube. He placed the reloadable fireworks motor tube on his head and a lighter in his hand when he ignited the firework.
“There was no rushing him to the hospital. There was no Devon left when I got there,” Cody Staples said. “It was a freak accident. … But Devon was not the kind of person who would do something stupid. He was the kind of person who would pretend to do something stupid to make people laugh.”
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