LAFAYETTE, IN — Kendra Hodges is the woman who died late July 4 in a garage fire on U.S. 231 south of Romney, according to the Tippecanoe County coroner’s office.
Hodges, 33, died from smoke inhalation and burns, according to an autopsy earlier this week. Her injuries required the coroner’s office to identify her through DNA. Those test results were finished Thursday morning.
Hodges was one of three people in the garage, where at least two buckets of fireworks mortars were being stored until the fireworks set up in a nearby field were ignited, according to fire investigators, who said an Independence Day party was being hosted.
The overhead garage door opened on the east side, and 46-year-old Scott M. Provo of southeastern Tippecanoe County was standing near the door when something touched off the fireworks, Deputy Indiana State Fire Marshal Bill Dearing said earlier this week.
Provo suffered severe burns and was flown to Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis by Lifeline helicopter, according to Tippecanoe County sheriff’s officials.
The homeowner, Joshua Hancock, was somewhere near the middle of the garage, and he hit the floor when the fireworks started. He crawled out of the garage on his stomach and was unharmed, Dearing said.
Hodges was on the west end of the garage with the exploding fireworks blocking any path of escape, Dearing said. She died at the scene.
The garage was quickly enveloped in flames and quickly burned to the ground.
Several township fire departments responded to douse the fire, and U.S. 231 south of Tippecanoe County Road 1300 South was closed for several hours, according to the sheriff’s department.
The fire and Hodges’ death remain under investigation, according to the coroner’s office.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Woman killed in July 4 garage fire near Romney identified as 33-year-old
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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