In May 2024, 16-year-old Oklahoma teen Rayce Ogdahl was nearly killed by a crucifix necklace electrocution. His metal necklace completed a circuit with exposed prongs on an extension-cord plug as he leaned from bed to check his charging phone. The metal chain behaved like a hot coil around his neck, throwing sparks while he stayed conscious and called for help.
His mother, Danielle Davis, found a ring of severe burns that matched the necklace and smelled burnt hair and electrical scorching throughout the house. Part of the chain welded to the charger and the cross melted into the mattress, burning a three-inch hole.
“He explained to us that he was in bed, rolled over to get comfortable when he heard something fall off the bed,” his guardian recounted. “He said he wanted to make sure his phone was still charging so his alarm would go off for school the next day.”
Doctors said the current was strong enough to be fatal, so they monitored his heart and treated second, third, and fourth-degree burns to his neck and hands, injuries that left significant scarring. Skin grafts were considered, though he hopes to avoid them unless medically necessary. Davis later urged families to keep phones off beds, check cords, and avoid using extension cords to prevent similar accidents.
