Utah teen attempting dangerous 'couch surfing' trend is left with horrific injuries
A teen in Utah has been left fighting for his life after following a dangerous social media trend.
Levi Teemant, 16, spent his birthday in a medically induced coma after being flown to the hospital in critical condition after making a ‘couch surfing’ social media video.
The dangerous trend, known as ‘couch surfing’ has risen is popular in Utah, and sees teens sitting on a coach being pulled by a vehicle, as they move at high speeds.
Many have also been seen taking part in the ‘table surfing’ trend, which they are seen being pulled along by a car whilst standing, or even sitting on a table.
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Levi’s mom Amy told KSL that her son said he wouldn’t be taking part in the trend, however, after seeing his friends complete it ‘successfully’ he chose to have a go.
“The first time he makes that choice, he sits on that couch, and the couch leg breaks, and he goes flying, and it’s a horrible, horrible accident,” she told the outlet.
Levi suffered from broken ribs plus spinal and facial fractures after taking part in the trend, which went horribly wrong.
He also suffered from a serious skull fracture and traumatic brain injuries, his family said. In the most recent update, the teen was starting to regain consciousness.
“It’s so hard to see my sweet, sweet boy like this,” the teen’s mother Amy told KSL. “I didn’t see him blink or move a muscle for more than 12 days.”
A GoFundMe account has been set up for Levi, to help towards his medical expenses.
Amy now wants to spread awareness to teens, and parents, about the dangerous trend, after being told by doctors that Levi’s case was the third case they had seen at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.
The Provo Police later confirmed to the outlet that there was a criminal investigation underway as part of this case.
Videos of the trend have been seen on social media sites including TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat.
TikTok has placed warnings on any ‘table surfing’ videos on the platform, and also told KSL that ‘activities such as couch surfing violate the platform's community guidelines.’
It’s not the first ‘dangerous’ trend that has gained the attention of officials. Last month, police issued a ‘serious warning’ after a number of teens had been playing the game ‘Senior Assassin’ with toy rifles. During the game, teams must ‘hunt down’ another team, in which they use toy rifles, or water guns, but these have been mistaken as real weapons by members of the public.
"We understand games like ‘senior assassin’ have become popular, but this serves as an important reminder: pointing realistic-looking weapons at people or from vehicles is not harmless," The Cobb County Police Department said in a statement.
"Officers responding to these calls, other drivers, or members of the public have no way of knowing whether what they are seeing is real or fake. A game is not worth someone getting seriously injured or killed."
Kiesha Dosanjh