Sorry, mine came from the Athletic.
The morning after his death, they expected to have a police report finalized later that day, believing that Kivlenieks died from head trauma after slipping and falling as he rushed to flee the hot tub when the fireworks mishap occurred.
But when the Oakland County, Mich., coroner’s office ruled later in the day on Monday that Kivlenieks’ death was from a “fireworks mortar blast, chest trauma,” Lt. Jason Meier said the report would be delayed.
On Tuesday, he said: “It’s going to take a while. It’s an active investigation. It could be a few days.”
Legace’s backyard has a large pool, with a five- or six-person whirlpool a few feet away. That’s where Kivlenieks was seated when he was struck in the chest by the mortar, knocking him to the ground.
“There were visible injuries to his chest … whatever a blast from a mortar would do,” said Oakland County coroner’s investigator Jeffrey Collins. Kivlenieks also suffered massive damage to his heart and lungs, the coroner’s office said. He likely died within seconds.
The Novi police provided three 911 calls from partygoers at Legace’s residence. The first was placed at 10:12 p.m. on Sunday
In the first call, a woman clearly states that there’s been a “fireworks malfunction.” In the second, which sounds like the same voice, she says “we have someone here who has been hit by a firework. Can you come immediately? He’s breathing. We have a nurse here. He’s breathing, but he’s doing not good.”
The third call, which sounds like a different voice than the first two calls, says “hit with fireworks” when asked to describe the emergency. She later adds that Kivlenieks was “getting ready to go into convulsions.”
Each of the three 911 calls have been heavily edited, specifically when the dispatcher asks for the address of the emergency. Meier declined to say if the incident occurred at Legace’s home, but other sources have confirmed that.