Fire blamed on scooter battery that killed girl, 8, in NYC

The Queens apartment building where an 8-year-old girl was killed and two adults were hospitalized in a fire.
The Queens apartment building where an 8-year-old girl was killed and two adults were hospitalized in a fire. Photo credit Google Street View

NEW YORK (AP) — An electric scooter battery sparked a fire that killed an 8-year-old girl in New York City, authorities said. The death of Stephanie Villa Torres on Saturday was at least the third time in a little over a year that a fatal fire in the city has been linked to a scooter battery.

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Saturday’s fire was reported at about 7:30 a.m. at a home in Queens, a police spokesperson said. Eight-year-old Stephanie was found unresponsive and was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The girl’s father and 18-year-old brother were treated for burns and smoke inhalation, officials said.

A Fire Department spokesperson said the blaze was caused by a lithium battery from an electric scooter—one of scores of fires blamed on electric scooter and bike batteries in New York City over the last two years.

A woman and a 5-year-old girl were killed on Aug. 3 in Harlem by a fire that was blamed on a scooter battery, and a fire linked to an e-scooter killed a 9-year-old boy in Queenson Sept. 1, 2021.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Google Street View