Who is Vanessa Boyd? Mom shares how TikTok trend led boy, 14, to choke and die
NOTE: MEAWW is only reporting on this trend, and under no circumstance do we encourage anyone to try it. In fact we advise all our readers not to. If, however, you have an impressionable mind and easily succumb to suggestion, then please stop reading now.
Another viral TikTok challenge took a life and left a family devastated. James Boyd-Gergely, 14, who is believed to have taken part in TikTok's viral 'blackout challenge' choked himself to death last year. Now, his mom, Vanessa Boyd is warning other parents about the dangers of social media.
Teenager James Boyd-Gergely allegedly took part in TikTok’s Blackout Challenge, where users dare each other to choke themselves until they are unconscious. James was found dead in the front veranda of his home in Laagan, in the Southern Tablelands, NSW on April 22, 2020. This is not the first account of 'accidental death' during the pursuit of a TikTok challenge. Back in March 2021, Joshua Haileyesus, a 12-year-old boy from Colorado, was left brain-dead after he passed out while reportedly trying to choke himself with a shoelace to participate in the infamous 'Blackout Challenge'.