A 14-year-old boy from Worcester, Massachusetts, died Friday as a result of a viral internet trend, the individual’s mother claims.
Harris Wolobah died after he was sent home due to complications from the “One Chip Challenge,” a social media trend promoted by snack maker Paqui. The seasoning on the challenge chip, which is packaged individually in a coffin-shaped box for $9.99, contains Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper peppers. The product warning advises consumers to “[s]eek medical assistance if you experience difficulty breathing fainting, or extended nausea.”
The cause of his death is unconfirmed as the autopsy results are yet to be released, according to NBC 10 Boston, but the teen’s mother, Lois Wolobah, told the outlet she believes complications from the One Chip Challenge killed her son.
Massachusetts teen dies after taking part in social media’s spicy ‘One Chip Challenge’ https://t.co/8CdXs0rJwz pic.twitter.com/9MIMYqKY4V
— New York Post (@nypost) September 5, 2023
The sophomore at Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester consumed the spicy chip during school and developed a serious stomach ache, a school nurse told the boy’s mother, per the outlet. (RELATED: Airport Worker Dies On The Job In Freak Forklift Accident)
The school nurse decided to send Harris home, and family members later found him unconscious and immediately took him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the New York Post.
Lois Wolobah told NBC 10 that her son should have been sent to the hospital right away rather than sent home.
“It is with a heavy heart I share that we lost a rising star, Harris Wolobah, who was a sophomore scholar at Doherty Memorial High School. As a mother and educator, I cannot imagine how hard this is on his family, friends and teachers,” Worcester Public Schools Superintendent Rachel Monárrez said in a statement Sunday. “My heart goes out to all who knew and loved him.”