Tough sledding: Rocket fueled by gas and gunpowder blows up en route downhill, burns inventor

Sledder, 62, hurt when improvised rocket blows up

INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A 62-year-old sledder looking for a burst of power got it when the homemade rocket strapped to his back exploded, burning him over nearly 20 percent of his body. Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said the man, whose identity hasn’t been released, was hospitalized in stable condition Monday.

The man was hosting a Sunday night sledding party when he filled an automobile muffler with gasoline and gunpowder, strapped it to his back and had it lit, seeking what McCabe called “a rocket-launch effect.”

The device blew up as the man headed downhill, causing second-degree burns to his face and right side of his body and possible eye damage.

No charges have been filed against the man, whom McCabe said is known for doing “outrageous things” at his sledding parties.