Hoverboard bursts into flames, sparking fire that killed 2-year-old; firefighter killed en route

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania -- A Pennsylvania lieutenant is dead after he was critically injured in a hit-and-run crash while racing to the scene of a fire -- sparked by a hoverboard. The fire claimed the life of a young girl -- just shy of her third birthday.

"I'm so hurt. I'm hurt. My soul is hurt," Mark Hughes said.

Hughes learned two of his grandchildren, two-year-old Ashanti and three-year-old Imani were burned in a fire in Harrisburg. Fire officials said it was caused by an exploding hoverboard.

Ashanti died at the hospital.

"My granddaughter. I can't replace her. The pain is so deep," Hughes said.

Imani and another girl were in critical condition after the fire. A teenage boy and a man were also hurt, but both were released from the hospital. Hughes' family members weren't the only ones victimized by this fire.

Lt. Davis DeVoe with the Harrisburg Fire Department had just left a funeral for a fellow firefighter who died of cancer when he got the call for this fire. He was driving down Walnut Street when police said 19-year-old Khanyae Kendall ran a stop sign and T-boned Devoe's car -- ramming it through a fence. Police said Kendall was under the influence, and fled the scene. She was later arrested when she showed up to the hospital for treatment of her injuries.

"Lt. DeVoe was trying to respond to an incident where he was trying to save some additional lives, and in that course of action, actually was critically injured by someone who was very careless," Captain Gabe Olivera said.

Fire officials said a hoverboard plugged into an electrical outlet sparked the fire.

"They heard some sizzling and crackling in the hoverboard and shortly thereafter it exploded in flames," Brian Enterline, fire chief said.

Hughes said his family is trying to stay strong after this tragedy.

"Just be careful with everything you buy and make sure it works right because if it don't work right, this is going to happen and you'll never know when this is going to happen," Hughes said.

Police said Kendall was driving a vehicle that was recently reported stolen. She faces several charges, including vehicular aggravated assault, driving without a license, providing false information and receiving stolen property.

The district attorney said further charges are subject to an autopsy and a formal investigation.