After an electronic cigarette exploded in his face, the 29-year-old college student from Colorado Springs named Cordero Caples has sustained a number of heavy injuries. The incident happened on Friday, while Caples was on his smoke break. Because of this, he has suffered a fractured vertebrae, facial fractures, and teeth damage which caused him to be in surgery for most of the day last Sunday. As soon as investigation results were released, it was found that the device that he was using wasn't properly configured which resulted to the explosion that can probably be the reason for him to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
As stated by Caples' sister, Colessia Porter, although Caples is already in a stable condition, the doctor's remain to be unsure whether he'll be able to walk again.
Porter describes her brother as a person with a very outgoing personality. She said that her brother is the type of guy who can do whatever he wants to do. Furthermore, Caples is into fitness and quite active. But with his condition at the moment, it has definitely raised some questions whether he'll still be able to continue doing what he used to do before the accident. Porter prays and remains hopeful that her brother will recover anytime soon.
Meanwhile, in an interview by Fox Memphis, Mary Grace Burns, an employee at a smoke shop in Memphis reported that the e-cigarette that Caples had used wasn't configured correctly. E-cigarettes are known to be sold in parts and Burns claimed that considering that the user knows what he's doing, they're "100 percent" safe to use.
Burns believes that it's a form of operator error. After seeing the pictures of Caples' e-cigarette device, she revealed that the way it has been powered on was too powerful, or might be because of a very hot battery, which eventually led to the unexpected explosion.
Additionally, Burns claimed that for those buyers who look for e-cigarettes, rather than opting for an online shop, she advises to only purchase them from an authorized and trusted stores. And before using the device, an individual must undergo proper training first, and it's either from these specialized sales people or from YouTube.
