Boy burned during prank is good friends with boy hurt by firework

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An 11-year-old Orem boy was critically burned over a large portion of his body and face while playing with friends.

Tyler Morgan's friends wrapped him in toilet paper to look like a mummy. When one boy pulled out a lighter, it started a chain reaction that critically injured the boy. And there's an interesting twist to this story: Tyler is close friends with Bridger Hunt, the boy severely hurt by a homemade firework on July 24th.

As Renee Morgan leans on her mother-in-law's shoulder for support, her thoughts are with her son Tyler. "He can't even open his eyes, they're too swollen, they're swollen shut," she said.

Tyler was playing with friends in an Orem park yesterday. His friends wrapped him up like a mummy in toilet paper and strung the rest of the roll between poles to create a wrestling ring. Then one of the boys pulled out a lighter.

"My other son stomped out the fire with his foot, caught his foot on fire. And when he shook his foot to put it out it flung from his foot onto Tyler," Renee said.

Renee was the first to reach Tyler. "He walked towards me, said he was having trouble breathing and he was cold. His skin was charcoal," she said.

Tyler is now being treated at University Hospital's burn center, and next door at Primary Children's Hospital is one of his close friends, Bridger Hunt. Bridger's grandmother, Olena Hunt, said, "When I heard about Tyler, I thought, ‘No way, it can't be Bridger's friend.' But it was."

Bridger was rushed to the hospital July 24th when a neighbor's homemade firework exploded, hitting him in the leg. He's undergone multiple surgeries since. His friend Tyler has been busy sending homemade cards and attending fundraisers throughout the ordeal.

Tonight, both families are thinking of one another. "I just wish them so much luck and love. This little boy needs everybody's prayers as well as Bridger," Olene said.

Tyler's family has been told the best case scenario is he'll be home in two weeks.

Bridger's latest surgery was tonight, to clean out an infection. His family says it went well.

E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com