A 12-year-old Detroit girl is connected to a ventilator with bandages covering severe burns over much of her body after doing a dangerous fire challenge she and her friends saw on YouTube.
Brandi Owens told WJBK-TV that she’s trying to be strong for her daughter, Timiyah Landers, but it’s not easy.
“I can’t help my baby. I can’t help her,” she said.
The fire challenge shows people who douse themselves with rubbing alcohol and set themselves on fire. Timiyah and two friends tried doing the challenge at her house Friday when things went awry. Owens said she saw her daughter on fire from her hair to her knees.
The mother wants YouTube to ban such videos and warn other parents.
“Children often do not realize that life is a precious gift and that they cannot copy things that they see on the internet,” Owens said on a GoFundMe page she started to raise money for her family’s incurring costs.
Timiyah was set to start the seventh grade this fall but instead will likely be hospitalized for several months. Nearly half of her body was burned.
