Potato canon explosion kills DeKalb County man
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September 8, 2009
By KATIE ANDRESON kanderson@scn1.com
KINGSTON — A potato cannon accident resulted in the death of a rural Kingston man Labor Day weekend.
Dennis M. Haberstich, 43, of the 7600 block of State Route 72, died late Sunday night after a piece of metal flew off of his homemade spud gun and struck him in the head, authorities said.
A potato cannon is a homemade explosive device generally constructed with plastic pipe. The cannons use air pressure, combustion of fuels or batteries to launch chunks of food into the air.
The barrel of Haberstich's potato cannon was about a foot long and made with heavy steel pipe mounted to a small steel platform, according to DeKalb County Sheriff Roger A. Scott.
"They used black powder and a propellant powder to cause the force to shoot the potato out," he said.
Haberstich and friends Walter W. Mulso and Michael Rojek, both of Kingston, had fired the cannon numerous times Saturday and Sunday evening before the fatal accident, said DeKalb County Chief Deputy Coroner Dave Jacobson. When the men fired the cannon Sunday evening however a piece attached to the metal barrel flew off and struck Haberstich in the head.
Haberstich was transported by ambulance to Kishwaukee Community Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival about 11:30 p.m.
Mulso was transported to the hospital for a knee injury he suffered in his rush to call 9-1-1 after Haberstich was injured.
Haberstich's death was still under investigation Tuesday by the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office but "everything appears to be accidental," Scott said.
While some area communities have ordinances making possession of the devices illegal, Scott said emergency calls for potato cannon accidents are "very uncommon" in DeKalb County,
"I can't recall one in the recent past," he said.
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