Jul 18, 2008 6:18 pm US/Eastern
Teen Dies In East Boston Power Outage
EAST BOSTON (WBZ) ―
A severely disabled teenager on a ventilator died during a power outage in East Boston early Friday morning.
Fernando Vargas, 15, was asleep in his home on Vallar Road when the power went out in the neighborhood at 4:50 a.m. A few minutes later an alarm on his ventilator went off.
The teen's stepfather, Ariel Acevedo, connected a 10-hour backup battery to it. Once it started working, Acevedo went back to bed.
A personal care assistant who lives with the family went in to check on Vargas between 5:30 and 6 a.m. and found him dead and the battery not working.
The last time I saw him was last night at 11:30 and he was laughing and playing with me," a tearful Acevedo said. "Everything changed in a second. I lost my boy."
An NStar spokesperson told WBZ a faulty cable caused the power outage. It was restored at 6:47 a.m.
Vargas suffered from cerebral palsy, mental retardation and a seizure disorder. When he was born, doctors told his parents he wouldn't live long. His family said when he recently turned 15, they felt truly blessed.
Investigators are running diagnostic checks on the ventilator. They added that they do not suspect foul play and called the incident a tragedy.
Vargas' family told WBZ the backup battery usually goes 10 hours and that they use it whenever the teen was in a car. They said they've never had a problem with the device.
Vargas was a student at the Carter School for the disabled in Boston. The school, located at 396 Northampton Street, is collecting donations in Vargas' name to raise money for a therapy pool.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
