What started as a fun day at the Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum in Seminole, Oklahoma, turned into tragedy for a young family. Alexus O’Bryant reportedly handed a s’more to her 4-year-old son, Ryker Corona, and seconds later, an explosion happened. Suddenly, flames engulfed Ryker. His mother did her best to save his life, and now he’s recovering at an area hospital, but their lives will never be the same again.
O’Bryant and her family had only been at the facility for a few minutes on June 21, 2025, when the accident occurred, per KWTW. After the mom handed Ryker his treat, hand sanitizer reportedly fell on an indoor grill, causing an explosion.
“And at first, you just see, like, big ex, big flames. And then I looked down, and the little boy’s on the floor, like, flopping around, trying to put himself out,” said family friend Daycee Phillips, who saw the incident.
She said O’Bryant sprang into action and other parents and guests helped put out the flames. But according to Phillips, museum staff allegedly froze and did nothing to help, KWTW reported.
Emergency responders arrived a short time later and airlifted Ryker to Integris Baptist Hospital in Oklahoma City.
Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum released a statement on social media calling the explosion an “unfortunate incident” during a hands-on activity. However, the museum claims staff reacted appropriately.
“First aid was administered immediately by trained staff, and emergency services were contacted,” the statement continued. “The safety and well-being of every child and family who visits our museum is our highest priority. We are conducting a thorough review of the incident, and the activity in question has been suspended while we evaluate and revise safety protocols to prevent any future occurrences.
“We appreciate the swift response of our staff and emergency personnel, and we are committed to learning from the situation to continue providing a safe, fun, and enriching environment for all children.” the museum added in the statement.
Ryker’s grandmother, Tammy Reich, rode with her grandson in the helicopter and recalled his terror to KTUL. “He was like, ‘Grammy, they set me on fire. They set me on fire.”
Reich told KTUL that Ryker has significant injuries on 15% of his body. “He has first and second-degree burns, and the second-degree burns are on his lower left arm, and he has blisters all over his face,” she said.
Family friend Makala Pevehouse told KTUL she hopes the incident is a wakeup call for the children’s museum.
“I want them to be more cautious because from what I’ve been told, this is not the first child that has been hurt here, and it doesn’t seem like anything’s being done,” Pevehouse said. “As a children’s museum, the children’s safety needs to come first.”
Loved ones created a GoFundMe account for Ryker’s family. It’s raised more than $4,500 thus far.
