Fireworks Store Blaze Claims Its 9th Victim

HUNTINGTON, W. Va. — A ninth person died Tuesday as a result of a fireworks store blaze that authorities say was set by a brain-damaged man, possibly acting on a dare.

Kathlene G. Wilks, 71, of Proctorville, died of burns from the July 3 fire at the Ohio River Fireworks store in Scottown, Ohio, about 15 miles north of Huntington.

Two other people were still hospitalized in good condition.

Todd Hall, 24, of Proctorville, has been charged with eight counts of involuntary manslaughter for allegedly starting the fire by holding a lighted cigarette to a box of firecrackers. It wasn’t clear if Hall, who underwent a lobotomy after he suffered a head injury during a 1987 skateboarding accident, would face a ninth charge.