Family grieves after boy burned by fryer dies

Five-year-old Israel Hernandez spent much of Sunday eagerly anticipating his cousin's surprise party.

While his mother and other relatives prepared food inside his house, he kept himself busy out in the driveway. He was playing quietly around 1 p.m. when his family heard a blood-curdling scream.

The Wheeling boy had tripped into a turkey fryer being used to cook chili peppers. The canister fell over and hot oil scalded the boy's back, family members said. His parents immediately called an ambulance, though Israel begged them not to take him to the hospital.

"He didn't want to miss the party," his 16-year-old sister Esmerelda said. "He kept talking about the party, but we told him he had to go to the hospital so he would feel better."

Israel was flown by emergency helicopter to the Loyola University Medical Center near Maywood. He remained in the burn unit there for four days before succumbing to his injuries Wednesday night.

An autopsy is scheduled today at the Cook County medical examiner's office, but family members said the boy had been unconscious upon his arrival and had gone into respiratory failure.

Wheeling Fire Chief Keith MacIsaac refused to discuss the case Thursday.

Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Kolssak Funeral Home in Wheeling. Israel will be buried in his parents' hometown of Zacatecas, Mexico.

"He was a happy boy," said his mother, Maria Hernandez, whose hands were also burned when she pulled Israel away from the scalding oil and tried to remove his clothes. "He was happy and full of energy."

Maria Hernandez refused medical treatment so she could be with her son in the hospital. Her blistered hands remained free of bandages Wednesday as she greeted the dozens of relatives and friends who had stopped by her house to pay their respects.

"I am fine," she said, as tears threatened her eyes.

The freak accident brought a horrific ending to what had been an idyllic summer for the boy.

He had spent hours outside in the sun playing with his toy trucks and Hot Wheels. He attended a series of family parties, one of which was so special he wore a new blazer and cowboy hat.

And, best of all, he watched his mother transform his small bedroom into a 5-year-old boy's paradise. With the walls painted bright orange, every item inside the room -- from the bedspread and sheets to the throw rug and wallpaper border -- honored the Pixar movie "Cars."

"'Cars,' 'Cars,' 'Cars,'" Maria Hernandez said of her only son. "He loved anything to do with the movie and the toys."

Israel also was fond of Twain Elementary School, where he began kindergarten last week. He enjoyed learning and was excited to be going to class, his family said.

The school's principal and a social worker met with students Thursday to discuss the boy's death. Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 also established a fund to help the Hernandezes with medical and funeral expenses.

The school contemplated the fund earlier in the week, when they thought Israel's working-class family might have trouble paying the hospital bills. When the boy died, they knew his parents would be facing a financial hardship.

The school social worker went to the Hernandezes' house Thursday to help with funeral arrangements. The PTO president also stopped by and has set up a schedule to deliver meals to the family.

"It's not something any parent would ever want to have to experience," said Terri Fergus, executive assistant to the District 21 superintendent.

Maria Hernandez said she hopes no other parent ever will. She urges parents with fryers and other cooking apparatus to exercise caution when using them.

"Be careful," she said. "Don't even look away from your children for a second. Please be careful."

Donations to the Israel Hernandez fund may be sent to the District 21 superintendent's office, 999 W. Dundee Road, Wheeling, 60090.