DES student suffers 'critical' injuries from fireworks (updated w/photo)

DESTIN — An 8-year-old suffered what firefighters called “critical” injuries to his face and head Sunday night after setting off fireworks with his father.

Members of the Destin Fire Control District were called to an address in Kelly Plantation around 9:20 p.m. but never made it to the home. The parents of the child were already transporting him and met rescue workers on the road.

Gianni Toce was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast by ground and then flown to Pensacola. Firefighters said it took quite a while for rescuers to stabilize the Destin Elementary School student for flight.

Toce is a Little League player with the machine pitch Yankees and made it to the peewee Super Bowl as a member of the Destin Reds.

Investigators gathered evidence and confiscated “non commercial” fireworks at the scene of the accident, said Michele Nicholson with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident was a stark reminder of the danger of fireworks, especially as summer and the Fourth of July approach.

“This is not the first time this has happened in Destin,” said Phil Metz, Destin Fire Control District medical division chief, who said a few years back, an adult was seriously injured by fireworks in Destin.

“You have to be aware that these things are very dangerous,” Metz said.