Teen Seriously Injured in Phoenix-Area Bonfire Explosion

Phoenix police are searching for a person they believe caused an explosion at a Halloween gathering in a desert area near Lake Pleasant on October 30. Officers were called at about 10:30 p.m. to the area of New River and Saddle Mountain roads, police said. The suspect is described as being between 16 and 25 years old and left before officers arrived.

Police say the person tossed a vehicle shock absorber into a bonfire. The blast sent debris into several people, but 16-year-old Jaidynn Penberthy was the only person who required urgent medical care, police said.

Penberthy’s brother, Ethan Glass, said she had been standing about 10 feet away. The impact left her unconscious, with a broken jaw, facial fractures, missing teeth and burns. People at the gathering gave her first aid, and friends called 911 and contacted the family. Glass said one person tried to restore her pulse with a sternum rub.

Penberthy was taken by air to a burn center and had facial reconstruction surgery. She is awake but cannot speak, Glass said, and communicates with her family in writing. She needs additional operations and has been in significant pain, her brother said.

Glass said he hopes police identify the person responsible. Phoenix police are asking anyone with information to contact the department or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO. A fundraising page has been created to help with Penberthy’s medical costs.