8 YEAR OLD (NONFATALLY) ELECTROCUTED BY PHONE CHARGER IN BED

PEOPLE

 

8-Year-Old Electrocuted by Phone Charger in His Bed: 'I Almost Thought I Was Going to Die'

By Charna Flam  Published on December 1, 2025 07:45PM EST

 

An 8-year-old boy is recovering after suffering a nearly fatal electrocution while sleeping in his bed.

 

Lorenzo Lopez was asleep with a phone on his bed that was loosely plugged into an extension cord connected to a nearby outlet. He then rolled over in his sleep, prompting his chain necklace to fall “between where the gap was on the extension cord and the charger, which is what shocked him,” his mother, Kourtney Pendleton, told KWCH.

 

Feeling heat on his neck, the boy told KWCH that he tried to scream, but couldn't call for help as he was being electrocuted. Ultimately, he was able to take the necklace off and sought help.

 

Lopez said he remembers a portion of the “scary” incident. "It was chaos,” he told the outlet. “I almost thought I was going to die.”

 

Pendleton said that one hospital employee told her, “Had he not pulled that chain off, he would have been electrocuted to death,” according to KWCH.

 

The mother added how her son “basically saved his own life.” “I guess I saved myself, and I’m happy about that,” Lopez said.

 

He was transported to the hospital, where he underwent a skin graft. He is expected to remain in their care for a total of two weeks, according to the GoFundMe page created by Pendleton.

 

“Lorenzo made it through his skin graft surgery, and while he’s in a lot of pain right now, he’s fighting through every moment with so much courage,” Pendleton wrote on Nov. 27. “This has been such a heavy and emotional journey, but he’s holding on with a strength that inspires all of us.”

 

As for Lopez’s hospital stay, he said, “They’ve been treating me nice, I just like being nice to talk to and having fun,” according to KWCH.

 

As of Monday, Dec. 1, Lopez is still in the hospital, according to a post to Pendleton’s Facebook page. In a recent update, Pendleton urged parents to keep electronic devices out of their kids' beds.

 

"Renzo wants his story shared to hopefully save another kiddo, so take renzos story as awareness to never ever let your babies sleep with electronics please," Pendleton wrote.

 

PEOPLE reached out to Kourtney Pendleton for comment.