Little Girl Dies After Being “Dared” Into Deadly YouTube Water Challenge

An 8-year-old Florida girl is dead months after seriously injuring herself by drinking boiling water through a straw, according to the Sun Sentinel.

Ki’ari Pope, of Boyton Beach, complained to her mother’s boyfriend late Sunday that she couldn’t breathe, and an hour later, at 12:15 a.m., she was pronounced dead.

The Sun Sentinel reports that the young girl suffered from medical complications after attempting a dare by her cousin based on a video that they saw on YouTube. Drinking boiling water through a straw would eventually prove fatal.

Pope needed an emergency surgery to clear out scar tissue that was preventing her from breathing, and that surgery left her with difficulty talking and breathing, according to the Sun Sentinel.

After surgery, physical problems continued, and things came to a head on Sunday night. Minutes after telling her mother’s “paramour” she was having trouble breathing, Ki’ari girl passed out. The unnamed man called emergency services, and responders tried to resuscitate her and took her to the hospital.

She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

“The loss of this child is truly devastating, and our condolences go out to all those who loved her,” said Mike Carroll, secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families, according to the Sun Sentinel.

“We have opened a child death investigation to examine the circumstances surrounding her death and will deploy a Critical Incident Rapid Response Team to review all interactions this family has had with Florida’s child welfare system.”

Since her birth, Pope has been involved in “at least” nine other investigations pertaining to child abuse or neglect, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Pope’s mother, 22-year-old Marquisia Bonner, is heartbroken.

“She was just a little girl full of life,” Bonner said according to the Sun Sentinel. “Everyone loved her.”

H/T KTVI

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