Texas Man Dies After Exploding Vape Pen Severs Major Artery
A 24-year-old man in Texas died last week after an e-cigarette he was using exploded and severed a major artery in his neck.
According to a report from the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office, the exploding vape pen caused William Eric Brown to suffer a stroke after it severed his left carotid artery, one of the major vessels that supplies blood to the brain.
Brown, a resident of Fort Worth, had reportedly just bought the device and was using it for the first time in his grandmother’s car, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
“It just hurts so bad,” Brown’s grandmother, Alice, told the newspaper. “It just all seems so unreal. He was running around doing his thing at 24, and now he’s gone.”
A local CBS affiliate reported that Brown was taken to a hospital after the explosion but died two days later.
The incident is believed to be the second known reported death in the U.S. caused by an exploding vape pen.
Last year, 38-year-old Tallmadge D’Elia suffered multiple injuries to his face after the e-cigarette he was using exploded in his face.
Brown’s death highlights the dangers associated with using the devices. According to a 2017 report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, there were 195 vape pen explosions from 2009 to 2016. While no deaths were reported in that count, 29 percent of the victims were deemed to have suffered “severe” injuries.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
