A Florida teenager who was severely burned when she attempted to pour gasoline on a 2017 New Year’s Eve bonfire has died.
News outlets reported on May 11 that the mother of 16-year-old Layne Chesney announced her death on social media.
“It’s with a very heavy heart that I would like to invite everyone that has ever known Layne Chesney to come out to Pineapple Park in Jensen Beach this evening from 7 to 9pm. Earlier today Layne was called home and her suffering has ended, ” the girl’s mother, Leigh Chesney, wrote on Facebook on May 10. “Please come out and join us as we put together a prayer vigil to say goodbye and celebrate Layne.”
The girl lived 16 months after she suffered third-degree burns on almost her entire body.
“My daughter has sustained burns over 95-percent of her body,” Leigh told CBS last year. “She has suffered a lot of disfiguring injuries.”
“The only part of her body that was not burned was the bottom of her feet,” Leigh said.
Layne was spending New Year’s Eve at a friend’s house at a get-together that included some of her friend’s family members.
The children were huddled together on the back porch at around 10 p.m. roasting marshmallows for s’mores when the accident occurred, TCPalm reported.
“When the flames went out, one of the children or her, I do not know the complete story, accidentally or on purpose, put more gas to the fire,” Leigh said. “An explosion occurred and she was enveloped in flames.”
A gas can exploded and Layne became engulfed in flames, according to reports.
Layne was airlifted to a burn unit at Kendall Regional Hospital. The teen’s condition was grave, according to her mom.
Students from Layne’s highschool and her teammates set up a GoFundMe page in her name.
“It’s a very dark time for the family but by coming together we can help support them through this tragedy,” the fundraising page says.
Doctors initially gave her only a 1 percent chance of survival. She endured about 200 surgeries and medical procedures.
Chesney was a softball standout, leading the Jensen Beach Wildcats to the 2017 Babe Ruth World Series and getting attention from college coaches when she was injured.
Epoch Times reporter Ivan Pentchoukov and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
