Teenager 'drowns' in freak accident after her hair clogs up the shower
A teenager in Pennsylvania died in a freak accident when she was in the shower getting ready to go to school.
According to CBS Pittsburg, 17-year-old Brianne "Bri" Marie Rapp was inside the shower at her home in Butler. It was around 6:45 in the morning on June 1 and her mother was still in bed while the teen was getting ready. It is alleged that she may have slipped or passed out at some point while in the shower.
Her mother woke up a little while later and found it odd that Brianne was still in the shower. She found her daughter inside the bathtub, which was overflowing at this point, with her hair caught in the drain. The girl is believed to have been drowned.
According to her father, the high school student was on some medication for a thyroid condition that she was sufering from. It is still not clear what made the teen pass out in the shower. They are also wondering if she slipped and hit her head causing her to blackout.
The father, Michael Rapp, told CBS in a statement: "We're thinking she blacked out in the bathtub and fell and hit her head and was found by my ex. We don't know if maybe hair clogged the drain but the tub overflowed."
Initially, the father said that he received a call from the desperate mother who was screaming on the phone that their daughter was gone. Rapp thought that his ex-wife meant their daughter had run away from home.
The authorities have ordered an autopsy of the body to find out what the exact cause of death was. Brianne's family have set up a GoFundMe page to help them raise funds for her funeral.
On the page's description, the father wrote: "My daughter Brianne Rapp passed away Friday June 1st, 2018 in her home unexpectedly at the precious age of 17."
He also mentions that he had also suffered from an injury that had caused paralysis in a freak accident that he was a victim of earlier this year.
He added: "My daughter was the heart and soul to so many of her friends. She always put everyone else first. I, her father and Kimberly, her mother would like to put our daughter first for once to say our final goodbyes!"
The GoFundMe page for Brianne's funeral has exceeded its $9,500 goal by more than $2,000.
Michael Rapp wrote an update to the page saying: "Brianne’s mother, Kimberly and myself would like to let everyone how much we appreciate the support! We have decided that after funeral costs are paid and bills are paid, whatever money is then remaining we are going to start a college trust fund up for her brother Tyler (12) and sister Maddy (4) in memory of Brianne."
"Brianne would be estatic to know this was possible. Again we are overwhelmed and appreciate every single person that has donated! It doesn’t matter if it was monetary or just keeping us in your thoughts. Thank You all so much!"