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Investigators work to determine cause of crash that led to fireworks store fire

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — State workers are still working to figure out what led to the initial crash that sent an SUV into a fireworks store in Brevard County, leading to a massive fire that sent fireworks shooting into the sky.

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I happened around 4:20 p.m. at the Phantom Fireworks on West New Haven Avenue in West Melbourne. The 53-year-old driver who slammed into the building died.

The husband of a Phantom Fireworks employee said his wife and another employee were in the back of the store when the fireworks started going off. They were able to get out the back door of the store.

READ: FHP: West Melbourne man dies after crashing SUV into fireworks store, sparking inferno

Theodore Murray said he saw the store go up in flames.

“I thought, ‘Dude, they’re not going to be able to control this, this is going to take a while because it’s a fireworks store,’” he said.

Watch: 1 dead after car crashes into fireworks store, starting blaze

A million dollars worth of fireworks was set off during the fire, officials said.

Photos: West Melbourne man dies after crashing SUV into fireworks store, sparking inferno

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Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.