Russell Gortzig is a 13-year-old boy from Deltona, Florida, who set himself on fire after imitating a video that he saw on YouTube.
Gortzig suffered severe burns after he allowed his friend to pour gasoline on him then he lit a lighter which sent his shorts up in flames. The boys were imitating a stunt they saw in a YouTube video where a man wearing a banana suit set himself on fire. His mother, Linda McCrea, partially blames YouTube for her son's behavior. On Wednesday, August 12, 2009, Gortzig was in stable condition at a children's hospital in Florida.http://www.wesh.com/cnn-news/20366679/detail.html
Russell Gortzig Photo
References
Fast Facts
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Age
13 years old in 2009
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Fact:
Set himself on fire on Sunday, August 9, 2009
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Suffered second and third-degree burns
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Gortzig and his 15-year-old friend, Pierre Marco, were imitating a stunt they saw on YouTube
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Originally treated at the Florida Reional Hospital but later transferred to the Arnold Palmer Hostpital, in Orlando, Florida
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Marco told police that they were trying to "show off" for a neighborhood girl; Gortzig's mother said they were imitating a YouTube stunt
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Fact:
Gortzig's mother, Linda McCrae, partially blames YouTube for the incident
