Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks dead after firework blast to chest

• Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died in a freak accident on the Fourth of July.
• Officials say the 24-year-old hockey player died after a firework blasted him in the chest.
• Kivlenieks was at a house party in Michigan at the time of the incident, police said.

An NHL goalie died in a freak accident on the Fourth of July when a "mortar-type" firework blasted into his chest during a house party in Michigan, officials said Monday.

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks, 24, was found unresponsive by authorities after they were called to a Michigan home at around 10:15 p.m. on Sunday, cops said.

Kivlenieks was rushed to Ascension Providence Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

The Oakland County Medical Examiner's office found that Kivlenieks died of "fireworks mortar blast chest trauma."

Kivlenieks' death was ruled an accident by the medical examiner.

Novi Police Department Lt. Jason Meier told Insider that initial reports showed that "there was some type of fireworks malfunction which caused a mortar-type firework to tilt" and strike Kivlenieks.

Meier said that Kivlenieks was in a hot tub with several others when a firework was shot over their heads.

As the group, including Kivlenieks, "attempted to flee" from the hot tub, a second firework "exploded," hitting Kivlenieks as he was getting out, Meier said.

"He died from internal injuries to the chest area," said Meier, who called it a "tragic accident."

Police initially believed Kivlenieks died as a result of a head injury because preliminary reports "said they saw him fall from a hot tub and strike the pavement," Meier said.