A 12-year-old Maumelle boy is at home recovering after dousing himself with gasoline, lighting himself on fire and video-taping it. It sounds hard to believe but Chris Whitaker says he learned a valuable lesson from the stunt that almost killed him.
In about two seconds flat 12-year-old Christopher Whitaker, a swimming champion, went from a carefree kid, to a kid on fire!
"It all lit in my face. It was scary running around the back yard," Chris said. "I was feeling like 'oh my God, this is happening. I could die, I'm about to die.'"
Chris says he and his friend thought they could get the fire out fast, and the stunt wouldn't be a big deal. "I thought, it would be just like that and over. That nothing would really happen," he said.
"I think there was some idea, they could post it on YouTube or MySpace," said Chris' dad, Mark Whitaker. That never happened because Chris and his friend got scared, and quickly deleted the video.
Mark says like many 12-year-olds, his son just didn't think. "When he lit it on fire it didn't extinguish that's when he suffered most of his burns," he explained.
Chris was air lifted to Children's Hospital with first and second degree burns to 50% of his body. It would have been much worse if he didn't, stop, drop, and roll.
"He [the friend] hosed me with water but he couldn't get me doused with the water," Chris recalled. "The fire came back. I ripped my pants and threw them, he sprayed them with the hose so the yard wouldn't catch on fire."
With the fire finally out Chris got into his bathtub filled with ice. His friend was so upset, he started vomiting and "praying, telling me everything is going to be alright, and that God is on my side," Chris said.
"When I walked in Chris saw me and said, 'I've done something dumb and stupid.' He was crying. I said, 'No all of us make dumb mistakes. When I was his age, by the grace of God something worse didn't happen to me," said Mark.
"I learned a lesson," said Chris Whitaker.
Chris is hoping to visit schools to share with other kids what happened to him. He is taking medication to help deal with the pain. Because Chris will receive new skin, he will be more susceptible to skin cancer. Doctors say by August Chris is expected to make a full recovery.
If you are ever burned experts say it's crucial to call 911 as soon as possible.
