NewsNational News

Actions

16-year-old girl collapses, dies during visit to haunted house

Posted at 1:25 PM, Oct 21, 2014
and last updated 2014-10-22 08:29:15-04

NEW MIAMI, Ohio - Christian Benge, a 16-year-old high school student, collapsed and died while visiting an Ohio haunted house. The Warren County Coroner's Office confirmed toWLWT News 5, a girl was in the Land of Illusion haunted house when she began experiencing difficulty and collapsed.

Haunted House death 01

Benge and a group of friends and family were visiting the Land of Illusion Haunted House last Friday, when seemingly out of nowhere, Benge collapsed.

"The mother instincts kicked in and I started CPR. And I did CPR until the paramedics arrived and I trusted God. He has an ultimate plan. It was just time," Christian's mother Jean Benge said.

Jean Benge said her daughter had a birth defect that left her with one lung. She was doing fine until Friday.

"The heart had to compensate for the lung, and so the heart enlarged to four times its size and it just stopped," Jean Benge said.

Haunted House death 02

Family members said they would rely on their memories, faith and each other to get through this difficult time.

"She was the sweetest, most generous, kind-hearted, loving person. I just miss her so much. My best friend is gone. But she's better off," Jean Benge said.