Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Texas man dies after e-cigarette explodes in mouth
William Brown's death marks the second recent death from an exploding e-cigarette among thousands of injuries and burns. The person and the device in the photo are unrelated to the story. gettyimagesbank
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
A Texas man has died from serious injuries after the e-cigarette he was using exploded in his mouth.
According to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner, William Brown, 24, died at a Fort Worth hospital on Jan. 29 (local time) after shards of metal from the exploding device dissected his left carotid artery.
The explosion happened in the parking lot of a vape shop near Beach and Golden Triangle in Fort Worth.
Brown reportedly did not buy anything, but wanted help using a Mechanical Mod style vape pen ― a model known to have issues.
“When they X-rayed him, they found the stem, the metal embedded where the blood flows up to the brain,” Brown's grandmother, Alice Brown, told
.
“I miss him already, and knowing he won't open that door and come through it ever again is the hardest part.”
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there were nearly 200 separate e-cigarette fires and explosions reported by the media in the United States between 2009 and 2016.
In May 2018, a Florida man, 38, was killed in a similar incident.
The autopsy report showed the projectile that killed him was from an e-cigarette made by Smok-E Mountain.