A 13-year-old boy who was badly injured in a fireworks incident in Fort Lauderdale underwent hours of surgery Thursday.
Surgeons at the Eye Institute at Jackson Memorial Hospital spent hours removing debris from the eye of Javonte McNair, who also had his hand severed in the Wednesday incident.
"There was a discussion where a couple kids, as he was riding his bike, threw it at him, and when it went off he threw it off and ran home," brother Troy McHatton said of the incident.
Doctors amputated the teen's hand, saving only his wrist bone. After the eye surgery is wrapped up, doctors will have a better sense of his vision loss.
Family members said the young boy who threw the firework lives behind the family and also burned his arm in the incident.
Minnie Pearl McNair, his grandmother, said he is an avid football player. She said he broke down when he realized the severity of his injuries.
"I tell him he’s gonna be fine, he’s gonna play ball again, and he has to keep his head held up and we keep praying and he’s gonna be fine," she said.
Fort Lauderdale Police are looking into exactly what caused the tragedy.
