July 5, 1962 - A record number of persons, 143, were fatally injured in highway accidents over the Fourth of July holiday. In the 30-hour period that began at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 3, 105 other persons died in boating, swimming, and other accidents. Although at least 25 persons were injured by fireworks, no deaths were reported from this one-time leading cause of Independence Day fatalities. A 14-year-old boy in Brooklyn was critically injured last night, however, when he emptied powder from firecrackers into a saucer and put a match to it. The powder exploded, blowing out the windows in the boy’s apartment at 157 Prospect Park West and spraying him with broken glass. The boy, George Haubrick Jr., was taken to Methodist Hospital, where physicians said it might be necessary to amputate some of his fingers.
