Driver dies after crashing into fireworks shop in Melbourne

MELBOURNE, Fla. (WSVN) — Fireworks flew and a large plume of smoke was seen for miles after a tragedy imploded at a Florida fireworks store after an SUV crashed into the building.

Fire crews and store workers had to dodge flames and shooting fireworks, Monday afternoon.

“Oh, my God, that’s crazy,” said Brian Peterson, a witness.

The fire started just minutes after an SUV crashed into the store.

Once it started to spread, you could see the intensity of the fireworks filling the building.

“There was some popping over into there, so we kind of backed up a little,” Peterson said. “Big mortars, and it was nonstop.”

The smoke could be seen for miles.

“Smoke everywhere. All the way up in the sky, and all you heard was boom, boom, boom!” said Shajayla Whitaker, a witness.

The SUV that started it was still visible through the smoke and flames.

Peterson describes seeing it crash into another car, lose control and then go straight into the Phantom Fireworks shop in Melbourne.

The driver died at the scene.

“The SUV just kept going right into the building,” Peterson said. “There was another car behind the SUV trying to go in and help, but the fireworks immediately started to go off, and they ran away.”

Two workers in the shop were able to make it out unharmed.

It was a dangerous evening for firefighters as they tried to put out the flames.

Flames and fireworks shot out of the store for more than an hour.

“We couldn’t get too close to the building … They were pretty dangerous,” a firefighter said.

Luckily, safety rules put in place could have been what ultimately saved those workers inside.

“They have very strict rules they have to fall under, which allowed those workers to get out,” said Patrick Voltaire, Brevard County Fire’s chief. “Those things weren’t in place, they could have been in some danger.”

The Florida Highway Patrol is still investigating the initial crash.

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