Juan Cortez was visiting his son for the Fourth of July in his downtown L.A. apartment located on the 22nd floor. An illegal firework launched from the ground hit the building and exploded on the 40th floor, shattering glass.
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Glass rained down over Cortez.
"And then all of a sudden I just felt a sharp pain in my arm, and I looked down, and I see the blood gushing out," he recalls.
Cortez said a piece of glass pierced one of the ligaments in his arm and part of his chest. His family immediately took him to urgent care.
MORE: Fireworks shatter windows of DTLA high-rise
Fireworks shatter windows of downtown Los Angeles high-rise
He said while he did enjoy watching the fireworks, he would like to see more regulation of private fireworks in the future.
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"I mean these weren't just fireworks. These were, I'm talking big, heavy stuff," he said.
He said he's feeling better since the incident and expects to make a full recovery.