A young boy, aged nine, narrowly escaped a life-threatening incident at his residence when his charging cable got entangled with a metal chain around his neck, causing a fire. The harrowing event occurred on October 19 in Jena, Louisiana, where Laura Morrow was startled awake at 5 am by the distressing screams of her son, Ashtyn Pitts. He suffered severe burns on his neck and left hand, prompting his parents to rush him to the emergency room and later transfer him to the LSU-Oschner Burn Unit in Shreveport.
Ashtyn had been asleep next to his charger, connected to an extension cord. His mother, Lauren Morrow, shared the incident on Facebook, explaining that during the night, the necklace inadvertently made contact with the charger’s prongs due to a slight separation in the connection point.
The young boy recounted the terrifying moment, describing a loud bang that woke him up, followed by frantic cries for help as the fire started. The burns on Ashtyn were so severe that the imprint of the chain was visibly scorched into his neck. Morrow, overwhelmed by her son’s pain and the realization of how close they came to losing him, expressed deep emotions, fearing they could have been planning a funeral.
Fortunately, Ashtyn is now in stable condition and is expected to fully recover from the incident. His mother issued a plea to other parents, urging caution when charging devices near sleeping children. The family’s ordeal serves as a stark reminder of the potential dangers of charging electronics in close proximity to children.