Boy who was burned trying to kill fire ants OK
Say hello to DUMASS AWARD wiener #3. Considering that this inDUHvidual was almost a Darwin Award nominee, he's lucky he's getting off easy with a DUMASS AWARD.
Helen Deel was terrified when she first saw the blistered skin hanging from the legs and arms of her 14-year-old son who was burned from an ant hill set on fire with gasoline.
But the League City homemaker was elated today when doctors released her son, Justin Myers, from Hermann Memorial Hospital in Houston and predicted there would be minimal scarring from the second- and third-degree burns.
"He is so lucky. His burns were serious, but they can do more about it if you get treatment quickly," she said of her son who is a ninth grader. "I have always warned him about gasoline, matches and things. But nobody realizes how dangerous the fumes can be. I hope this makes other people think."
Just before noon on Tuesday, her son had gone to visit a neighbor, 15-year-old Cameron Knowles, who lives next door. Knowles had stumbled upon the ant bed while doing yard work and decided to incinerate it, police said.
"Justin was standing nearby talking on his cell phone when Cameron poured gasoline on the hill and then used his lighter to start it," Deel said.
The wind blew the fumes toward Deel's son so that when the fire ignited it flashed back toward him with a swoosh. His shorts caught fire instantly after which he ran for a nearby hose to douse himself, officials said....
"When I got home, before the medical workers arrived, he was jumping around. The adrenaline had worn off and the pain was kicking in," she said. "I'll never forget seeing his skin hanging between his thighs."
Of course, now this poor inDUHvidual's mother will be waging a public campaign against the dangers of gasoline and ant hills, completiely missing the danger that teenage boys pose to themselves. Of such humble beginnings are born DUMASS AWARD wieners.
