An Iowa woman died instantly on Saturday after being struck in the head by shrapnel during a gender reveal party at a home in central Iowa.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office identified the woman as Pamela Kreimeyer, 56. Sheriff Jason Sandholdt’s office said an investigation revealed that family members had been working on ways to make a memorable and fun announcement of a child’s gender for social media. However, they unintentionally created a pipe bomb.
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Six people, including Kreimeyer and the expectant mother, gathered Saturday and put gunpowder inside a homemade stand that was welded to a metal base. They had been experimenting with different types of explosive material on Friday and Saturday. According to the news release:
They put a piece of wood on top of the gunpowder and some colored powder on top of that. The stand had a hole drilled in the side for a fuse. Finally, tape was wrapped over the top of the assembly. The idea was for the gunpowder to blast the colored powder indicating the gender out the top of the stand.
But the explosion instead sent metal shrapnel flying. Kreimeyer – who was standing with family members about 45 feet away – was killed instantly by a piece that struck her in the head, the news release said. The debris continued flying for well over 100 more yards, the sheriff’s office said.1
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Sheriff Sandholdt also released a statement saying:
“This family got together for what they thought was going to be a happy event with no intent for anyone to get hurt. What ended up happening was that Pamela Kreimeyer, a wife, mother and grandmother, was killed by a piece of metal where a metal stand, gunpowder and colored powder were involved. This is a reminder that anytime someone mixes these things there is a high potential for serious injury or death; please do not take these unnecessary risks. My condolences go out to the family.”1
Always be careful when planning events like this. Don’t use helium balloons, lanterns, or any items that can cause harm to humans, animals or the environment. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family – what a tragic accident.
