By Staff Writer (media@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Mar 04, 2015 11:04 PM EST
Tags iPhone, Apple

Erik Johnson was on his way to attend a wake for his cousin in New Jersey February 14 when his iPhone 5C "spontaneously erupted in extreme heat while it was in his pants pocket," CNN reported.

The Lindenhurst, New York resident sustained "second- and third-degree burnson his leg the size of a football" as a result of the smartphone's spontaneous combustion.

"When I went to bend over, I heard a pop. I heard a sizzling, and I ended up ripping my pants off to stop it from burning me," he told the news outlet.

He was immediately driven to New Jersey's Bayonne Medical Center by his brother, who was with him at the time of the incident.

"After being evaluated in the emergency room, Johnson was taken by ambulance to the Burn Center at Staten Island University Hospital. The burn center confirmed to CNN that he spent 10 days there receiving treatment," CNN added.

Recounting the incident, Johnson remembered feeling an "instant burn" and his leg "going on fire."

"I was literally jumping up and down trying to get the phone out of my pocket, but I think the phone melted my pockets shut so I couldn't get into it and I had to rip my pants off and throw the pants to the side. A couple of people actually said they could smell my body burning," he recalled, as noted by ABC 7.

The burst iPhone 5C is still in Johnson's possession. It now has a warped metal case that is stuck to the unit as a result of the explosion.

According to Angelbeat CEO Ronald Gerber, it's possible that using third party charging devices or the device having small damage to the unit's circuit board "can cause the battery to overheat and spew lithium lava."

However, Johnson said that he used an Apple cable to charge his iPhone.

The operating engineer has since tried to reach out to Apple through personal injury lawyer Mike Della.

"Despite two phone calls and a letter, Apple had not yet responded to his queries about why his client's phone suddenly exploded in heat," CNN said.

However, when the news agency got in touch with the Cupertino-based tech juggernaut, the company said it "is looking into the incident."

"Now, every single time I have my iPhone, instead of putting it in my pocket, I put it in the seat next to me because of this case," Della said. "My wife does the same thing, and so does everyone else at the (law) firm. It's a little scary."

Did this incident get you thinking twice about putting your own smartphone in your pocket? Let us know.

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