Aurora Starchild
Ah, the Gender Reveal. We love them. We hate them. Parents-to-be have come up with extravagant and entertaining ways to tell the world whether they’re about to give birth to a boy a girl. From colorful cakes to pole dancers, it seems the possibilities for gender reveal announcements are endless. And yet some are simply the end, as these four gender reveal deaths have shown.
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October 26, 2019: The Gender Reveal Death of Pamela Kreimeyer
Pamela Kreimeyer was a 56-yr-old grandmother, mother, and wife from Knoxville, Iowa. She was incidentally struck in the head by flying shrapnel after her family accidentally created a pipe bomb. A metal projectile flied into — or through — her head and continued to fly for another 144 yards.
The family had intended to experiment with different explosive devices so that they could film a gender reveal announcement and post it to social media. Unfortunately, their pyrotechnic expertise failed them due to a piece of tape.
According to a press release by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the family had filled a stand with gunpowder. That stand was attached to a metal base plate with a hole for a fuse. They placed a piece of wood over the gunpowder and topped that with colored powder. Then, they added a piece of tape on the end of the metal tubing.
“Tape was then wrapped over the top of the metal tubing, inadvertently creating a pipe bomb,” they said in the statement. “Instead of the gunpowder shooting the powder out the top of the stand, the stand exploded sending metal pieces flying.”
The Sheriff’s Office subsequently reminded the public that they should not try these kinds of things at home.
“This family got together for what they thought was going to be a happy event with no intent for anyone to get hurt… 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.”
September 17, 2020: The Death of Charles Morton
Charles Morton, a 39-yr-old San Diego native and firefighter, died in the 22,744-acre El Dorado wildfire which was accidentally started by a couple’s gender reveal announcement. Refugio Manuel Jimenez Jr. and Angela Renee Jimenez were charged with involuntary manslaughter after their family’s attempt to use a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device caught tall grass on fire.
They were in the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa, California, east of Los Angeles. Temperatures that day were above 100 and the strong wind blew sparks across the 4-ft-tall dry and flammable grass, which quickly spread.
The El Dorado fire continued burning throughout San Bernardino County from September 5 to November 16. It forced hundreds of residential evacuations and caused 12 additional non-fatal injuries. 20 buildings were also destroyed, including 5 homes and the fire cost over $8 million to fight.
While this gender reveal death didn’t happen on the day of the gender reveal party, it was the result of extremely poor judgment. RIP Charles Morton, you are a hero.
February 6, 2021: The Gender Reveal Death of Evan Thomas
Evan Thomas Silva, 26, of Gaines Township, Michigan, was a proud father-to-be. His life was quickly terminated when a novelty cannon filled with gunpowder exploded. It sent shrapnel flying, hitting Evan, who was a mere 15 feet away. Evan was rushed to the Flint Hurley Medical Center but passed away from his injuries.
Several other people were standing nearby the cannon when it exploded, but Evan Thomas was the only person struck. Shrapnel also hit three parked cars.
“The cannon is designed to create a big flash, a loud noise and create smoke,” said the Michigan State Police in a statement. “The cannon did not contain any projectiles, but it is suspected that the gun powder loaded into the device caused the cannon to fracture, resulting in shrapnel being spread in the area.”
The police and a bomb squad investigated the incident, and no charges were filed. The tragic accident was deemed to be no one’s fault. Stupidity was the only cause here — don’t fill gimmicky fake cannons with gunpowder, folks.
February 21, 2021: The Gender Reveal Death of Christopher Pekny
Christopher Pekny, a 28-yr-old father to be from Liberty, New York, built an explosive contraption for a gender reveal party. It blew up prior to the party, on a Sunday morning. Christopher was killed and his 27-yr-old brother, Michael Pekny, was hospitalized with injuries.
Not many details are given about the device, nor about how it killed Christopher. Local police and a bomb squad unit investigated the incident and no one was charged.
Pekny’s family has owned and operated the Robin Hood Diner in Livingston Manor since the 1980s. On their family business’s Facebook page, they issued the following statement:
“We are deeply saddened and must inform you all of the loss of our dear and beloved Christopher. We appreciate the overwhelming display of love and support that you all have shown.
“The Robin Hood will be closed for the immediate future. More details will be posted when we have them available. Thank you.”
A note to all expecting parents: Please don’t add to the list of gender reveal deaths. Please don’t play with fire. Specifically, your children need you. If you need some safe gender reveal party ideas, check out Pampers. They have 50.
