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Downed power line shocks 6-year-old Texas boy and his grandmother, leaving them with significant burns in ICU
A 6-year-old boy and his grandmother were sent to a Texas intensive care unit after they were severely burned by a downed power line, CBS affiliate KHOU reports. The mother of the boy said her son had burns on almost 20% of his body and that her mother suffered burns on more than half of her body.
Morgan Winters told KHOU the incident happened in an RV park near Lake Conroe, about 50 miles north of Houston. She told the station that her mother, Charlotte Winters, had picked up Morgan’s 6-year-old son Nathan Winters from camp on May 28 and took him back to her RV. They went to leave the RV park that evening after they lost power during a storm.
As they were leaving, they saw a downed power line and stepped outside of the vehicle to warn a neighbor, and that’s when they were struck by electricity, despite the station reporting they were not near the actual downed line. Both were sent to an intensive care unit in Houston.
“It’s a phone call that nobody every wants,” Morgan Winters told KHOU. “Not only is it your parent, it’s your child.”
She said that because it rained earlier in the day, it is believed the wet ground may have caused the electrocution. According to National Grid, downed wires may be live even if they aren’t sparking, and it’s recommended that people stay at least 30 feet away from one when it’s seen.
“Water is a natural conductor of electricity and a downed line in a puddle or flooded area can electrify it, creating a deadly hazard,” National Grid says. “Even non-conducting materials like cloth or wood can conduct electricity when wet.”
In a GoFundMe, Morgan Winters said Nathan suffered second-degree burns on 18% of his body, including his face. He underwent a skin graft surgery in which doctors took healthy skin from his left thigh to help the wounds heal on his left forearm and right shin, she said, adding he may have to go through a second graft surgery for additional injuries.
As of Monday, Nathan was wheeling himself around the hospital room, his mom told KHOU.
Warning: Some viewers may find the below images of Nathan and Charlotte Winters distressing.
Morgan Winters/GoFundMe
Her 56-year-old mother, who she says is a supply manager at a nursing and hospice facility, suffered second- and third-degree burns on more than half of her body and was in critical condition when the GoFundMe was created over the weekend. On Tuesday, “doctors will be able to decide if she will need multiple toes and possibly a finger amputated,” Morgan Winters said of her mother.
“Doctors are expecting her to be in the Burn Unit for 2 + months before she can be moved to a normal recovery floor which will also be for several months,” she added. “Charlotte will need to continue with physical therapy and other treatment most likely at a rehab facility before she can return home.”
Despite the long path forward, Morgan Winters told KHOU that her mother and son are “both fighters.”
“They’re both going to make it through one day at a time,” she said. “…I know deep down it’s going to be okay, even though it’s going to be hard and challenging. I’m just very thankful that they’re both alive.”
There were no injuries after a Southwest flight carrying passengers was struck by gunfire on the tarmac of Dallas Love Field Friday night, authorities said.
Southwest Airlines Flight 2494 was preparing for departure to Indianapolis when “a bullet apparently struck the right side of the aircraft under the flight deck,” a Southwest spokesperson told CBS News in a statement.
The airline said no one was hurt. A spokesperson for Dallas Love Field said in an email that the aircraft returned to its gate after sustaining damage from a “security incident” and the passengers deplaned. The runway was also temporarily closed, but has since reopened.
Dallas police confirmed the incident, saying that officers responded to reports of gunfire at 9:48 p.m. local time, arriving to find that the aircraft had been struck.
No further details were provided on the circumstances of the incident or what was the potential source of the gunfire. It’s unclear how many people were aboard the jet at the time, or how much damage the aircraft sustained.
In its own statement provided to CBS News, the Federal Aviation Administration said that the plane “was reportedly struck by gunfire near the cockpit.”
Dallas police are leading the investigation into the incident.
Earlier this week, gunfire amid ongoing gang violence struck three planes that were either landing or departing Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince. The shootings prompted the FAA to issue a 30-day ban on U.S. airlines flying to Haiti.
Social media star Jake Paul defeated boxing legend Mike Tyson in a highly anticipated fight with an age difference of over three decades between the two contenders. The Friday night win for the YouTuber-turned-pro-boxer was streamed on Netflix from the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Texas.
Paul defeated Tyson by an unanimous decision after the two fighters went eight full rounds.
Fight night for the 58-year-old Tyson and 27-year-old Paul came following doubts over whether it would happen at all. The fight was originally scheduled for July, but was postponed after the former heavyweight champion experienced an ulcer flare-up on a plane in May.
A different kind of flare-up happened during the official weigh-in Thursday with Tyson slapping Paul in the face. Tyson later told the New York Post that Paul had stepped on his toe when the two were toe to toe onstage.
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What is Jake Paul’s fight record?
With the win, Paul’s record improved to 11-1.
Was Jake Paul predicted to win?
Oddsmakers had Paul as the slight favorite to win. Former heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua also went with Paul.
How much prize money does Jake Paul win?
Paul was expected to earn about $40 million from the fight, according to DraftKings Network and other online sources.
Promoters didn’t reveal the payouts ahead of the bout. Paul is a co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, which produced the fight.
Does Mike Tyson still get paid?
Tyson was expected to take home around $20 million for the fight, according to DraftKings and other online reports.
Tyson entered professional boxing in 1985 and became the youngest heavyweight champion in history a year later. After serving time for a rape conviction in the 1990s, Tyson won the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association titles.
He retired from boxing in 2005 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011. He last fought in a 2020 exhibition match against former four-division world champ Roy Jones Jr.
“He like put on another 20 pounds from when I fought him, so he’s more bigger and he’s more dangerous because more size, more power, so it’s going to be a tough one for Jake to climb,” Jones told CBS News ahead of the fight.
Anne Marie Lee and
contributed to this report.
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