Teen Died After Eating Spicy Chip

[RAMROD 117,079]

A 14-year-old boy from Massachusetts died unexpectedly a short time after he ate a particularly spicy tortilla chip, leaving his family grieving and searching for answers.

Harris Wolobah died on Friday, said a statement from officials at the Worcester public school district where the boy studied.

Harris’s cause of death had not been determined on Tuesday as results of his autopsy remained pending, but his relatives fear that complications from eating an extremely spicy tortilla chip from the manufacturer Pacqui were a factor, according to an online GoFundMe campaign meant to benefit his family.

Harris’s mother, Lois Wolobah, told the local television news outlet WBTS that her son was given a Pacqui chip by a fellow student at Doherty Memorial high school in Worcester, Massachusetts. Harris soon had an intense stomachache and went to the school nurse, who called his mother to pick him up.

Harris felt some relief after going home, but then he lost consciousness as he prepared to go try out for a basketball team, Lois Wolobah reportedly said.

After his brother found him passed out, Harris was brought to a nearby hospital. He was pronounced dead there.

Worcester police confirmed that they were among the authorities investigating Harris’s death, WBTS reported. But officers stopped short of saying whether they were investigating any activities beyond the Harris’s consumption of a Pacqui chip as a possible contributor to his death.

Pacqui did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company promotes a “one chip challenge” and invites consumers to publish videos of themselves on social media eating the product derived from two of the world’s hottest peppers.

The individually wrapped tortilla chips are made from the Carolina Reaper and Scorpion chilli peppers, which are two of the spiciest in the world, information from Pacqui shows. Pacqui warns consumers that the chips are for adults only and should be kept away from children or anyone who has allergies or sensitivities to spicy food.

The Pacqui-pushed one chip challenge is popular on TikTok, where users have posted videos of themselves eating the treats and seeing how long they can forego drinking or eating something meant to neutralize the spicy sensation it provokes.

 

https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/05/massachusetts-teen-dies-spicy-tortilla-chip-pacqui

[Lucas 31,129]

Awful... Sadly this is not the first nor the last time that someone dies for a stupid tiktok challenge...

[LOVEDRUG 11,269]

3 minutes ago, Lucas said:

Awful... Sadly this is not the first nor the last time that someone dies for a stupid tiktok challenge...

i will say, this isn't tiktok. these kinds of 'trying incredibly extreme/spicy/gross food' challenges have been huge on the internet for almost twenty years now. they dominated youtube and other social media sites, only one of which is tiktok. anyone remember the cinnamon challenge?

[Red 99,113]

He most likely was allergic to it

 

[The Fame 4,288]

Can't help but wonder if the person who gave it to him laced it with a poison. You never know. People are just not right in the head anymore, unfortunately. 

[Meredith Grey 3,219]

We used to sell that “one chip challenge” chip at a store I worked at and we had to ban people from eating it in the store because so many people threw up from it.

[Jnick8 530]

Remember when teens were eating Tide pods? 🤦‍♂️
 

[SharkmanthaC 115,047]

This is why I always get on students for sharing food in the cafeteria. Especially foods brought from home in any way. You just never know another person's allergies or sensitivities. 

[Purrrrrr 18,101]

5 hours ago, RAMROD said:

her son was given a Pacqui chip by a fellow student at Doherty Memorial high school in Worcester, Massachusetts. Harris soon had an intense stomachache and went to the school nurse, who called his mother to pick him up.

Harris felt some relief after going home, but then he lost consciousness as he prepared to go try out for a basketball team, Lois Wolobah reportedly said.

This is such an odd situation.. The article makes it sound like it's the manufacturer's fault but if no one else had that issue it seems way deeper than that?

[weed 78,957]

Idk where they got the info from but Twitter says he ate SIXTEEN of them.... if that's true, what the hell

[Dona 123]

Watch them use this news for promo… “someone DIED trying it “

[ALGAYDO 35,132]

Crazy. My boyfriend and I just did the challenge a couple of nights ago. It was intense for a couple of minutes but then nothing interesting. Tbh it’s hurting coming out way more than it did going in. 
 

but anyway, like how others have stated, it’s tragic that a life was lost, especially considering this whole thing could've been easily avoided. Imagine when the parents found out…. Just ****ing awful. Poor kid had his whole life ahead of him