A Portland family believes that their 13-year-old was left with severe burn injuries on her neck and arm after she tried to imitate a trending TikTok challenge.
Destini Crane, who is suffering third-degree burns, has been in the hospital for more than two weeks. The incident took place on May 13 in their home's bathroom, her sister, Andrea Crane told ABC News.
Destini is currently not in a position to share what happened that day. But her mother, Kimberly Crane, said that on the basis of what they found in the bathroom and after talking to her friends, they think that the teenager who "lived for TikToks," was trying out a challenge that involves drawing a shape using a flammable liquid on a mirror and then setting fire to it.
Her family found a candle, lighter and bottle of rubbing alcohol, which they believe exploded in the bathroom which is poorly ventilated, and this in turn set her and other items on fire, her sister said.
When they found Destini's phone, TikTok was still recording video, her mother said. "I was in the living room talking with my mom, and I heard her scream my name," Kimberly recalled. "So I went and opened the bathroom door and everything was on fire. Destini was on fire. Things in the bathroom were on fire."
Kimberly took her daughter outside and got rid of her burning shirt, she said. By then, a neighbor had called 911. "Because of the burns she's going to have limited mobility. That is just going to be a lifelong thing, of her doing physical therapy to keep her mobility," Andrea said.
Destini had a tracheotomy, and doctors are now in the process of doing skin grafts on her neck and arm, reported FOX12 Oregon.
"I know that when she wakes up and fully understands, she's probably going to freak out. But honestly I think that she's strong enough to get through it," her mother said.
Firefighter Rob Garrison said that these challenges put people at risk. "This is maybe one of the most dangerous things I've ever seen anybody do in my life," he said.
Garrison said that when your skin catches on fire, it burns quickly. "You could be standing next to a lake if you want and light yourself on fire, and by the time you hit the water, you're probably going to have burns on your body," he added.
Her family chose to share their story to encourage others to be more involved in their children's usage of social media. "I just wasn't present with her. When she showed me TikToks and when she showed me what she was doing, I would be like, 'Oh I'm busy,' or, 'I'm doing schoolwork,'" Andrea said.
"It's really important to be present with your children, because we can monitor them, we have parental controls, we can do all that all we want, but things slip through. And so it's really important to be present with your children and have that transparency of, 'Hey what are you into what? What are you doing right now?'"
