Getty An unrelated replica of Uncle Sam.
Allen Ray McGrew was a 41-year-old South Carolina dad who died after he placed a firework on his head while dancing in an Uncle Sam suit for the 4th of July, according to the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office. A tragic video showing McGrew dancing in the Uncle Sam suit has gone viral on social media.
“Allen Ray McGrew, 41, ignited a large firework device and set it upon his head in the street on Cottonwood Drive in the Crestwood subdivision. The device exploded while on top of his head causing massive head injuries. Mr. McGrew was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:10 p.m. by the coroner,” the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a news release emailed to Heavy.
The video shows McGrew was wearing an Uncle Sam suit and smoking a cigarette, as he danced in a yard. You can watch the video below. It does not show his death. Three large fireworks are burning near the curb behind him, the video shows. According to the New York Post, McGrew died when the HVAC worker “put a large, lit firework on top of his stars-and-stripes hat.”
This seemingly normal footage depicts 41-year-old Allen Ray McGrew in his final moments. Shortly after the video was captured, McGrew put a large firework on top of his hat and ignited it, leading to a fatal explosion.
McGrew was dressed up as Uncle Sam to celebrate 4th of July…
The death occurred in Summerville, South Carolina, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
“Rip Allen McGrew you was my best friend … you taught me a lot … you will be so greatly missed,” a man wrote on Facebook.
Allen Ray McGrew Was Discovered Lying in the Road on the 4th of July, the Sheriff’s Office Says
Man dressed as Uncle Sam died after lighting firework off hat while smoking cigarette in July 4 horror. Allen Ray McGrew, 41, from South Carolina, was seen dancing in his star-spangled suit on his favorite holiday for a street party in Summerville, Dorchester County.🤔
In a news release emailed to Heavy, Dorchester County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Chaz Easterlin wrote that, at approximately 10:23 p.m. on July 4, 2024, the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office and the Dorchester County Emergency Medical Service “were dispatched to the 100 block of Cottonwood Drive in the Crestwood Subdivision in Summerville, SC.”
Upon arrival at the scene, “EMS personnel and Sheriff’s Deputies located a male, laying in the roadway of Cottonwood Drive. The male was suffering from major injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses in the neighborhood attributed the injuries to a fireworks accident,” the release said. “Detectives and Crime Scene investigators are currently conducting an investigation into this incident.”
A report from the Sheriff’s office, emailed to Heavy, says McGrew was attending a neighborhood block party when the tragedy occurred.
On July 3, Dorchester County government posted a series of safety tips on Facebook for the 4th of July.
Dorchester CountyFourth of July safety tips from Dorchester County government.
“We’re traumatized,” his son, Hunter McGrew, 20, told The New York Post in an interview. The family told The Post that McGrew was a person who rarely drank alcohol but had made an exception for the July 4 holiday as well as the recent engagement of his son.
The Wife of Allen Ray McGrew Told Deputies He Was Trying to ‘Show Off,’ Reports Say
‘Showboating’ South Carolina father killed after lit firework he placed on his head explodes: report t.co/F6PTn4hevK
An incident report emailed to Heavy by the Sheriff’s office says that the officer located McGrew “in the roadway” deceased.
His wife Paige McGrew told the officer that “Allen is her husband. Paige advised they were having a block party and Allen had started drinking around 6 p.m.,” the report says. “Paige advised she observed Allen place a firework on his head, which she believes was done to show off. Paige advised she was trying to tell Allen not to do that when the firework went off, and she observed Allen collapse.”
“He was holding this firework over his top hat,” Paige McGrew told The Post and Courier. “I thought he was just showboating before he set it on the ground. I didn’t realize he had already lit it.”
McGrew’s wife told him to stop when “the firework suddenly erupted and he collapsed,” the newspaper reported.
The wife praised her husband as a “patriot” in the interview with the Post and Courier. “Allen loved this holiday,” she said. “He was a patriot; he was proud of his son and he was excited to have a new daughter-in-law. He was living his best life last night,” she told the newspaper.
Paige McGrew also spoke to The Post. “He loved this country and looked forward to celebrating every year,” McGrew’s wife told the Post.
“Just before the incident happened, he hugged me and his son and said ‘You are my rock, and you are my heart,” she recalled. “Me being his rock and his son being his heart.”
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Tragic Video Shows South Carolina Dad Dancing in Uncle Sam Suit Before Firework Kills Him