Ohio Teen Electrocuted To Death In Family’s Garage After Recreating Dangerous Science Experiment He Saw On YouTube

An Ohio teen was found dead in his family’s garage after he was electrocuted while trying to recreate a dangerous experiment he saw on YouTube, according to the Daily Mail. At approximately 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26, police officials arrived at a home on the 5800 block of W. Lake Road, where they discovered the lifeless body of 15-year-old Morgan Wojciechowski of Vermilion in the garage.

Emergency workers were immediately called to the scene and reportedly tried desperately to revive the young boy, who was an aspiring scientist, but it was to no avail. After the teen was transported to Lorain Mercy Hospital, he was pronounced dead.

LaRepública.pe Joven fallece al imitar experimento de YouTube | VIDEO LaRepública.pe Morgan Wojciechowski falleció… https://t.co/SVjc5WPuG9

— Manuel (@ManuelIDK) April 21, 2016

A detective with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, Robert Rieger, stated that the Ohio teen sustained “injuries that were consistent with electricity flowing through someone’s body, on hands, feet and chest.”

According to the teen’s parents, he went into the garage alone to try an electrical experiment that he saw on YouTube called Jacobs’ ladder, which “uses a power source, two copper wires and some other connections to create a 12,000-volt surge of electricity.”

“The Jacob’s ladder is a relatively simple device. The big box on the bottom is called a transformer. A transformer is something that changes the voltage going to a device,” according to the Wonders of Physics. “For example, the charger on your cell phone is a transformer.”

“Your cell phone converts the 120 Volts that come out of the wall into 9 or 12 Volts. The Jacob’s Ladder converts the same 120 Volts to more than 500 Volt. When the Jacob’s Ladder is turned on, electrons are fed into one of the wires. These electrons want to get away from each other, so they jump across to the other wire, which is connected to the ground. When they jump, we see a bright spark in the air.”

The Ohio teen’s step-grandfather stated that “he had a real interest in how things worked.” He went on to say that “It’s been going on for quite a while. He has been gathering things.”

However, the electrical experience went terribly wrong when the Ohio teen was electrocuted to death before he even began the Jacobs’ Ladder experiment, reported KTLA5. Wojciechowski’s mother told reporters that she went into the garage to check on her son after smelling something strange and hearing a loud noise.

To her amazement, she discovered that her son had been electrocuted. Wojciechowski’s step-grandfather said that “YouTube was the culprit and it needs to be stopped. We need to monitor what’s going on and what’s being put out there for the kids.”

Prayer service for Morgan Wojciechowski, 15 held after he was killed attempting science experiment @cleveland19news pic.twitter.com/7DZ5eh4z2t

— Shanice (@ShaniceDunning) April 20, 2016

After learning of Morgan Wojciechowski’s electrocution death, Superintendent Philip M. Pempin at Vermilion High School – where the teen was a student – posted a message via Facebook, where he stated that “Morgan was a vibrant student and athlete who was well-liked at Vermilion High School.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Morgan’s family, and we continue to be available for anything they need.”

The school district also released a statement on Wednesday following the high school freshman’s electrocution death, which stated: “On behalf of Vermilion Schools we would like the greater community to know that we are brokenhearted about this tragic loss to our school community.”

“While we can appreciate the importance of reporting this story, we ask that you allow us to focus our efforts on helping the family, our staff and students cope with the loss of this wonderful young man. At this time we would prefer not to make any additional comments about this tragic event. Thank you for understanding.”

Morgan Wojciechowski electrocuted himself while trying a science experiment, Jacobs’ Ladder, he saw on YouTube, and his family stated that they hope his death “teaches other parents to monitor what their child see and do when going on the internet.”

[Image via Getty Image/Justin Sullivan]