http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/02/04/mi ... index.html
Man hurt after homemade rocket explodes during party stunt
(CNN) -- A 62-year-old Michigan man was severely burned when a homemade rocket strapped on his back exploded while he slid down a snowy hill on a sled, authorities said this week.The rocket stunt was the grand finale on Saturday during the man's annual sledding party at his Oakland County, Michigan, home, the sheriff's department said.
"He is known for doing 'crazy things' at his parties," an Oakland County sheriff's department statement said. "On this date, after consuming an unknown quantity of alcohol, he constructed a device out of a motorcycle muffler and pipe."
Inside the makeshift rocket, the victim placed gunpowder, heads from matches and gasoline. He donned a helmet and took a sled to the top of a snowy embankment.
"He asked another person to light a wick and then began to sled down a hill. At some point during the ride downhill, the device exploded. The results of the explosion were second-degree burns to the victim's face," the sheriff's department statement said.
No one else was injured during the incident.
The man, whose identity is not yet known, was hospitalized with significant damage to one of his eyes and could face criminal charges, authorities said.
