Texas man suffers stroke and dies after e-cigarette explodes in his face

There were about 195 e-cigarette fire and explosion incidents between 2009 and 2016

A man in Texas died after an e-cigarette he used exploded in his face and tore his carotid artery causing a massive stroke.

William Brown, 24, died on January 29 at a Fort Worth hospital from “cerebral infarction and herniation”, after the debris from his exploding vape pen dismembered his left carotid artery, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.

Mr Brown was just a few weeks away from his 25th birthday.

The e-cigarette explosion reportedly took place on January 27 in the parking lot outside of a store selling smoking and vaping products.

The store manager, Smoke and Vape DZ, told CNN that he called an ambulance immediately after the vape explosion.

Mr Brown visited the store the day of the explosion asking for assistance in using the vape pen. The store said it was unable to help him since it did not sell that brand of vape pens. He did not buy anything at the store.

After the explosion, Mr Brown was rushed to the hospital where he was put into a medically-induced coma. The x-rays reportedly showed that parts of the e-cigarette were stuck in his throat.

“[A part] went across his lip, apparently somehow, and cut his lip,” Alice Brown, Mr Brown’s grandmother, told CNN. “That three-piece thing went into his throat and stayed there.”

“He had a future ahead of him; a life ahead of him,” she added, stating she did not understand why the doctors didn’t operate on her grandson sooner.

A JPS Health Network spokeswoman said health privacy laws prohibit her from commenting on the specifics of Mr Brown’s case, but said they are continuing to communicate with the young man's family and offered their sincerest condolences.

“We hold ourselves to the highest standards in providing high-quality healthcare and will take family concerns seriously as we review all that transpired,” the spokeswoman said.

There have been quite a number of reports involving e-cigarette explosions. The US Fire Administration reported there were about 195 separate e-cigarette fire and explosion incidents in the US between 2009 and 2016 that were covered by the press.

In May 2018, a man from St Petersburg, Florida, died after his e-cigarette exploded and shot a part of the device into his head.