The 19-year-old Dunedin student who sustained burns to his
face and arm during a drunken incident with an aerosol can
says he remembers little about what happened.
Speaking from his bed in Dunedin Hospital yesterday, the
teenager, who asked not to be named, said he was drinking
with friends at a Dundas St flat when an aerosol can
exploded.
"We were celebrating the end of exams," he said.
The Otago Polytechnic civil engineering student said he
sustained serious burns to the left half of his face and an
arm during the incident. He had yet to inform his family
about the accident.
He could not recall exactly what had happened.
Despite the incident, the man said he still hoped to go to
Queenstown to snowboard but acknowledged his injuries might
prevent him.
He could not recall how he got to hospital, but Senior
Sergeant Brian Benn, of Dunedin, said the teenager had taken
a taxi by the time emergency services arrived at 9.30pm.
The teenager was injured after he allegedly emptied the
contents of the aerosol can into a cavity of a couch, which
was then ignited.
Snr Sgt Benn said the incident served as a reminder how
drunken antics could result in serious injuries, and were a
waste of emergency services' time.
"He got himself injured while clowning around."
It was too early to say if charges would be laid, he said.
- hamish.mcneilly@odt.co.nz
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