8 years old girl dies after being dared to drinks boiling water from straw

An 8-year-old girl has died, months after she was injured from drinking boiling water through a straw when her cousin dared her to do it.

Ki’ari Pope, eight, of Boyton Beach, Florida, U.S. burned her mouth and throat as a result of the hot water she consumed. She received a tracheotomy that left her deaf and with chronic respiratory problems. On Sunday night, the child started having trouble breathing and she told her mother's boyfriend who then called 911. She was taken to a hospital where she died on Monday morning.

Marquisia Bonner, the child's 22-year-old mother, says Ki'ari had suffered complications since March when she took the dare from her cousin after they watched a YouTube video where someone appeared to drink boiling water from a straw. She had emergency surgery on her windpipe to clear scar tissue but it left her with respiratory problems which ultimately led to her death.

Records show Florida Department of Children and Families, DCF, received reports of at least nine other allegations of abuse or neglect involving Ki'ari since her birth. Four of the most recent prior reports were received in 2017, two of which occurred when the child was under the supervision of a relative. One of the reports in 2017 yielded proof of either abuse or neglect.

DCF Secretary Mike Carroll said a child death investigation has been opened "to examine the circumstances surrounding her death and will deploy a Critical Incident Rapid Response Team to review all interactions this family has had with Florida’s child welfare system."

Mike Carroll released a statement on the death saying: "The loss of this child is truly devastating and our condolences go out to all those who loved her."