Teen footballer killed and friend in coma after ‘e-bike battery explodes’

An aspiring footballer has died aged 16 and his friend is in a coma after an electric bike allegedly burst into flames in a London home.

Tommy Ballay-Dean, known as Junior, died at his friend Shauny Halsey’s home in Southwark, south London, on Wednesday after a blaze broke out.

The pair had just returned to the house from the shops when the fire erupted.

Emergency services were called at 2:57pm, and firefighters managed to bring the situation under control by 4:34pm.

But Tommy was pronounced dead at the scene of the tragedy.

Shauny, also 16, was taken to King’s College Hospital, where he was treated for severe facial injuries and life-threatening burns.

He was later placed in an induced coma and transferred to a hospital in Essex, where he is expected to undergo multiple procedures, including skin grafts.

Junior’s football coach and family friend Dean Stanhope told the Daily Mail: ‘It is a very hard time for everyone, but we are trying to stay positive because we understand how much of a godly person Junior was and believe God has taken him early for a reason.

‘He was loved by everyone and he would walk into a room and light it up. He was outgoing, he was not shy and was a very talented footballer.

‘He loved football like it was his whole life. His focus was to make it as a footballer and he knew he needed to keep locked in to make it.

‘And after two years of working on it he finally his coaches saw that he was finally ready and that was the moment he was taken from us.’

Junior was a student at St Thomas the Apostle School in Peckham and had played for several grassroots teams, including Mass Elite, Blaise Ballers, Rotherhithe FC, and Whitestar Academy.

The local community has rallied behind Junior’s family. Stanhope said over 100 people visited his mum’s house since the tragedy happened, and a fundraiser for Junior’s family has raised £35,969.

The fire completely destroyed Shauny’s family home, leaving his parents, Jessica and Shaun, along with his nine-year-old sister, displaced and currently staying in a hotel near the hospital.

Another GoFundMe was set up for Shauny’s family to help rebuild their lives.

A relative of Shauny told the Daily Mail: ‘They are in limbo and in shock, especially because the other boy passed away.

‘Their flat is also destroyed; it has disintegrated and everything is melted. The walls are gone, even the metal bed has melted.

‘They haven’t been back there but they have been left with nothing.’

The family member told the Daily Mail: ‘The whole situation is just so sad. They were both such lovely young boys, they are such good boys, they don’t hang around on the street, they are so polite, it is very, very sad.

‘They had been friends for a very long time and there was a group of them.

‘It was so heartbreaking to see the young boys here just breaking down and crying on the floor.

‘They are a group of good boys. They were always in the house playing video games or playing football.’

The Daily Mail reported that there were claims that the blaze was sparked from a defective e bike charger.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Met Police and London Fire Brigade but is not being treated as suspicious.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: ‘At around 3pm on March 18, police responded to reports of a fire at a residential address in Coopers Road, Southwark.

‘Officers attended with the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service. 

‘A 16-year-old boy was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. His next-of-kin are being supported by specially trained officers.

‘Another boy – also aged 16 – was treated for serious facial injuries. He was taken to hospital, where we await an update on his condition.

‘The circumstances of the fire remain under investigation, although at this stage the incident is believed to be non-suspicious.’

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