KSHB 41 reporter La’Nita Brooks covers stories in Kansas City, Missouri, and stories offering solutions on crime. Share your story idea with La’Nita.
A Belton fireworks store owner who suffered severe injuries in a 2017 fireworks incident has turned his pain into purpose.
Clifton Ragan lost some of his fingers and injured parts of his face when a firework exploded during a Fourth of July celebration.
"I lost some of my digits on my hand,” Ragan said. "I lost my vision. And I also blew out a chunk of my chin. I had bought some fireworks from a stand. And I had never dealt with rockets ever before. I used one of those rockets I got from the stand and it blew up at soon as I lit it."
Instead of stepping away from fireworks, Ragan said the accident pushed him toward a new purpose.
He opened Gatorland Fireworks tent in 2021 in Belton.
“I said, 'I'm going to open up a firework tent,"' Ragan said. "As crazy as people think that might sound right after I had an accident. They thought I would stay away from them. And I was just like, nah, it just woke me up. It woke me up to what I should be doing in life.”
Nearly a decade later, Ragan's business is one of the few Black-owned fireworks shops in Missouri. He now uses the thing that almost took his life to educate and protect others.
Customer Louis Johnson said he has been coming back ever since his first visit.
"My first time out here was probably about three years ago,” said Johnson. “And ever since then, I come out here.”
For Ragan, the mission is personal.
"I'm the type of person that if something knocks me down, I have to get back up."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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