Watts Rams uplift teammate injured by firework
LOS ANGELES - What should be a time of excitement for this year's football season is also a time of a tough life lesson and a warning to others about the dangers of playing with fireworks. A young girl in Watts is sharing her story after a horrible injury around the 4th of July.
La'Veyah Mosley is 12 years old and part of the Watts Rams Youth Football team. She lost a hand while playing with fireworks. She was holding a sparkler when she says a neighbor put an M-80 firework in her hand. It blew up causing her temporary loss of vision, bleeding from her face, and loss of her left hand.
Marc Maye, the head of Project Blue which oversees the Watts Rams says La'Veyah now wants to be a spokesperson for firework safety. A fundraiser with the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department was held to help the family and honor her effort.
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The Watts Rams are a co-ed youth football program. It was founded by LAPD officers. Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides says the fundraiser was "really about fire safety" and "about uplifting La'Veyah."
Last 4th of July, the LA City Fire Department says it responded to 138 fireworks incidents, treated 102 injuries, 72 of those were traumatic injuries like the young girl’s.
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She was going to play football for the Watts Rams and had just made the team along with her sister. She will now stay on as a coach. La’Veyah’s mom credits the program for continuing to uplift her daughter. Supporters can donate to Mosley’s GoFundMe campaign.