Hoverboard birthday gift 'destroys' Louisiana home
The $300 birthday present 'could have killed' the boy it was bought for
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A family home was badly damaged when a so-called 'hoverboard' bought as a gift suddenly exploded.
The home in Louisiana was significantly burnt when the electric toy caught fire while charging - and its young owner could have been killed.
Now Jessica Horne, the mother of the boy for whom the toy was a present, has set up a funding page to try to repair the damage.
Her plea for help has raised $2,605 (£1,726) so far.
Jessica Horne said her son was "thrilled" when she presented him with a self-balancing scooter bought from Amazon.
"When it ran out of charge, he brought it inside and put it on the charger.
"As I walked past his room, I saw it began to shoot sparks and within seconds it was in flames; within minutes the entire room was in flames," she said on her funding page.
"Christmas is just around the corner. We lost our home to this horrific incident."
She has set a target amount on GoFundMe.org of $8,000 to try to repair the damage after discovering that their rented home was not insured.
Her son, 12-year-old Hayden, said in interview with WGNO that he could not believe it when his $300 birthday present caught flames.
A shipping order shows the board came from a company called Fit Turbo through Amazon, WGNO reported.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said it was the first hoverboard incident related to fire. But a man in Florida recently filmed his hoverboard in flames.
Timothy Cade, who also bought his toy through Amazon, told WKRG that other people should be warned.
"If that was a kid to have that happen - or imagine if that was in your house?" he said.
Another hoverboard burned down a house in Kent this month.
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