Autistic teen faces blindness after ‘friend’ throws drain de-clogger in his face

26 May 2024 , 22:52

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Teenager Brody may face permanent blindness after having cleaning powder thrown in his face

An autistic teenager is facing permanent blindness after someone he called his friend allegedly threw cleaning powder in his eyes.

Teenager Brody Morgan, 18, from Texas, had been walking with two other friends through a Houston suburb when their fooling around turned grisly. Police allege the trio's horseplay ended in a violent encounter when Branden Jolly, 17, threw chemicals at his victim.

The trio of teenagers returned to the victim's mother's house with Brody clearly suffering an eye injury. But the group tried to play down the injury and attempted to hide the substance used in the attack. Amy Morgan, the victim’s mother, said: "Kids with autism don’t always know how to make good friend choices."

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Branden Jolly allegedly threw the chemicals into Brody's eyes

Brody's recovery may be difficult as doctors rule the damage is 'severe'

Amy attempted to flush the chemicals out of Brody's eyes with water and saline but nothing worked. It took a hospital trip to get the full story from her son. Police say the boys had stolen a package during a walk from a nearby home. In it, they found a "container filled with a powder substance" and it soon led to Jolly and the group throwing it around.

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The 17-year-old is believed to have thrown the contents of the bottle onto Brody's shirt. Jolly was then shoved aside, prompting him to throw the contents of the container again. This time the chemicals were tossed onto Brody's face, court documents claim. Morgan was then rushed to hospital and treated in a burn unit for chemical damage to his face and eyes.

Doctors later discovered the chemicals had been a drain de-clogger which was clearly described on the outside of the container, the New York Post reported. Jolly was described as "one of Morgan's friends" by police who say the 17-year-old was arrested two days later and handed felony charges for injuring a disabled person.

The teenager's mother has since spoken out on the encounter and believes Jolly had thrown the chemicals as part of an accident. She says the chemicals fell out of her son's hands after Brody "attacked him". Jolly's family issued a statement which read: "Our family is very distraught over the details of this case, for both of our families. I’m very saddened by the entire event, and heart goes out to Brody and his family. I believe this incident was NOT an act of malicious intent by my son to harm his friend but an accident resulting from the choices made by all parties involved."

Brody's mother, Amy, added: "The kind of chemicals they were can still continue to break down." It is unknown if Brody will recover from the injuries or how long it will take as doctors described them as severe and unpredictable burns to his face.

Ewan Gleadow