13-year-old boy's face burned during school science experiment: 'It was just hell'
A sixth-grade student suffered burns to his face after a science experiment performed by a teacher went wrong at an Encinitas, Calif. elementary school.
Priest Rivera, a student at Capri Elementary School, was watching his teacher perform a common science experiment known as the "black snake," or "carbon snake." The experiment, which employs household products, such as baking soda, sugar, and a flammable liquid, unexpectedly exploded in Rivera's face.
According to Rivera, his teacher instructed the students to stand in a semi-circle while she performed the experiment.
"The teacher kept on pouring more rubbing alcohol onto the flame itself because the flame wasn't building up," Rivera told 10News.
Rivera is unaware of what happened next and only remembers waking up while in an ambulance with a sharp pain on his face. He was transported to a hospital's burn unit, where he spent six days and underwent four surgeries.
"My face was constantly burning and burning," he told the station. "I still feel it right now." Gina Rivera, Rivera's mother, did not know what to expect when she received the call regarding the accident. When she arrived to see her son, he told her that his vision was blurry due to the burns.
"It was just hell," Gina said. "He kept saying, 'mom am I going to go blind?'"
While Rivera ultimately kept his eyesight, bandages remain on his face to protect his wounds.
"It has halted his life. It's changed his life," his mother said.
Gina claims that the students were not wearing eye protection and that there was not a fire extinguisher in the classroom. She has hired a lawyer and plans to sue the Encinitas Union School District.
A representative for Capri Elementary School did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle's requests for comment.
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