Surgeons cannot reattach the arm of a Long Island man whose limb was severed when he set off amakeshift fireworks launcher during a weekend holiday celebration, a source said today.
Eric Smith’s arm, which was blown off at the shoulder, “was not a replantable injury,” according to a person close to the investigation.
Surgeons at Nassau University Medical Center had hoped to reattach Smith’s left arm after friends packed the bloody limb in a cooler filled with ice and rushed it to the hospital along with him.
Cops said Smith, 36, was using a 3-foot metal tube to shoot mortars outside his Fairview Avenue home in Islip Terrace shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday. As the explosive shot out of the launcher, it struck Smith in the left shoulder, completely severing the arm.
Officials said Smith was using the fireworks illegally with friends and relatives. A hospital spokeswoman said Smith was listed in critcal but stable condition.