Girl Severely Burned when Gasoline Ignites on Slide

A little girl is hospitalized in Atlanta with severe burns after gasoline poured on an outdoor slide to make it slicker burst into flames.

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 21-month-old Alyssa Calhoun and her 4-year-old sister Kayleigh were playing on a swing set at their father’s home when another child apparently poured gasoline on the slide.  Police say that static electricity from the toddler sliding down the slide likely caught her clothes on fire.

The older girl immediately went running to her father saying “Sissy’s on fire!” The father put Alyssa in the bathtub to extinguish the flames and then drove her to a nearby fire station, the Journal-Constitution reported..

The toddler was flown by helicopter to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta with burns to over 60 percent of her body.  Officials say Alyssa remains in a medically induced coma to help her cope with the pain from her critical injuries.

The girls’ mother, Jennifer Lollis of Covington, Georgia said her daughters were spending the weekend with their father when the accident happened.