CROCKETT COUNTY, Tenn. — Kelsey Prine is terrified of fireworks after one exploded mere feet from her face.
“I honestly thought I was going to die,” she says.
She says she was hanging out with her friends around 9:30 Saturday night at Maury City Park in Crockett County when a firework went off under the picnic table she was lying on.
“It was louder than thunder right beside your ear,” Prine says.
Her boyfriend was sitting next to her and grabbed her but neither could escape the blast. Their friend Katie watched in horror.
“It was scary, like all we seen was smoke and heard her screaming,” she says.
Prine says someone shot the firework at them from a truck, then sped off after the explosion.
“It was a beeline straight towards us. It wasn’t an accident,” Prine says.
Her neck was severely burned and her boyfriend had multiple burns too.
The Crockett County Sheriff`s Department put pictures of the suspect’s vehicle on social media yesterday. It’s described as a gray Toyota truck.
Prine says she doesn’t know why anyone would shoot a firework at her but fears it was a cruel joke.
“It’s not funny,” she says, “It’s still hard to wake up. It’s still hard to go to sleep because I’m in so much pain.”
She hopes someone recognizes the truck and helps deputies arrest her attacker.
“I would love to see them face jail time,” Prine says.
If you recognize the truck, please call the Crockett County Sheriff’s Department at 731-696-2104.
