Arizona teen in ICU following Lake Pleasant bonfire explosion the night before Halloween
Lake Pleasant bonfire explosion injures teen
A 16-year-old girl remains in the ICU after a car part thrown into a bonfire exploded at Lake Pleasant. FOX 10's Steve Nielsen reports.
A teenage girl is facing a long road to recovery after being injured in a bonfire explosion.
It happened the night before Halloween at Lake Pleasant. The girl has had three surgeries so far, and she remains in the hospital in the intensive care unit.
The backstory:
Sixteen-year-old Jaidynn Penberthy is being treated at the Arizona Burn Center in Phoenix after being seriously hurt in a bonfire explosion at Lake Pleasant on Oct. 30.
Her sister, Rilyne Penberthy, says students from several high schools attended the bonfire. She says the blast happened when someone threw a vehicle shock into the flames. It blew up and hit Jaidynn in the jaw.
"It wasn't just the only car part," Rilyne said. "They found other car parts inside the fire, but that's the only one that exploded that we know of."
Jaidynn's upper and lower jaw are broken, as well as both of her cheekbones, and her nose is fractured.
"She's able to write and talk to us. She can't talk, like physically talk, but she writes it down," Rilyne said.
Jaidynn also suffered burns on her leg and behind.
"It wasn't just her that got burns. Many other people got burns as well but she's the only one that got like an actual injury to her face," Rilyne said.
Sixteen-year-old Jaidynn Penberthy is recovering at the Arizona Burn Center after being hurt in a Lake Pleasant fire blast.
Dig deeper:
After being injured, a friend who brought Jaidynn to the bonfire and others jumped into action.
"There are a few kids that picked her up, put her in the truck, and he's the one that called police and brought her to the gas station and made sure she was safe until ambulance got there and brought her to the hospital," Rilyne said.
"She went from the gas station in the ambulance to Deer Valley Medical Center, and then she was medevacked from there to here Saturday morning," Scott Martinez, their stepfather, said.
What's next:
The teen's family is asking anyone with information about what happened to come forward.
"There is a police report that they're doing where they want people, if they know anything, to submit anything that they know," Rilyne said.
"Just be safe around fires and, you know, don't do something stupid because it could really change people's lives," Martinez said.
What you can do:
The family has set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for expenses – click here to view it.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Rilyne Penberthy, sister of Jaidynn Penberthy; and Scott Martinez, stepfather.