Maui police have opened a criminal case against the parents of two children who were critically injured after they were burned while playing with fireworks on New Year’s Eve.

An 11-year-old boy and his 9-year-old sister were injured while they were playing with fireworks in the bed of a pickup truck at their home on Puuloa Street in Waiehu, police said. Both were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition and later flown to Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu.
Their 5-year-old brother also suffered burns and is recovering at home.
Police initially classified the incident as a “miscellaneous accident,” but today opened a child abuse/neglect case against the children’s parents. The parents also face charges of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and reckless endangering, police said.
Police said in a press release that the parents "failed to recognize that there was an imminent risk of bodily injury when they allowed their children to play with fireworks." The parents also “recklessly endangered” the children and “failed to properly care for and protect” them, police said.
The case has been turned over to the Maui prosecutor for review.
The names of the parents were not released by police.