Single mother says charging hoverboard exploded and now her family’s home is a total loss

JERSEYVILLE, Ill. (KMOV) - A melted television, walls covered floor to ceiling in ashes, and an unrecognizable childhood bedroom.

“I have a total loss,” Beth Hughes said.

Around midnight Monday, Hughes said her family was shaken awake by a loud noise, followed by black smoke, and rising flames.

“All I knew was there was a fire and it was in her room. Chloe was the one that stated her hoverboard was blowing up. I thought everything was gonna explode. It was multiple bangs that happened back there,” Hughes explained.

Hughes said the fire started in her 8-year-old’s bedroom. Now, parts of her home are burnt to a crisp with a charred hoverboard sitting at center focus.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Hughes added.

Luckily, the single mother and her kids made it out alive, however, that isn’t the case for past hoverboard customers. In 2017, a young Pennsylvania girl was killed and two others injured after a hoverboard caught fire in her home. Later that year, a hoverboard fire happened at a home in Lee’s Summit, Missouri and again in Belleville, Illinois. You can find videos of these fires and explosions all over YouTube.

“They shouldn’t be selling something that doesn’t have a block whenever it’s done charging,” Hughes said.

Hughes told News 4 she believes the company that makes the hoverboard needs to be held responsible. Right now, investigators are still sifting through the rubble to solidify the fire’s source.

The family is also working to verify the hoverboard manufacturer. News 4 reached out to a company the family believes is the maker, but we haven’t heard back. In the last decade, there have been several recalled hoverboards.

To help the Hughes family recover from this tragedy, click here.

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