3 Year Old Dies After Following Father Into Buring Family Home [Picture, Video]

It’s a very old saying that carries a lot of meaning and depth: A parent should never have to bury their own child.

Few things on earth can anguish the heart like the suffering and death of your son or daughter. The pain and loss cannot be explained in words, and, yet, there are ways to make the suffering even worse.

Severe storms in Sharon, Pennsylvania, took out the power to Terry Thomas’ house. Being prepared, his family lit candles for light. Sadly, it seems one of the candles fell over and the house caught on fire at about 11:30 at night. Thomas grabbed his 3-year-old son, Layden, rushed him outside to the porch, and then went back inside for his wife, their infant, and 5-year-old daughter.

When Layden saw his dad run back inside, he did what any 3-year-old who loves his father would do. He ran after him. Apparently, as Thomas ran inside his wife and other children came out, but they crossed paths and he did not see them.

Layden’s mother, Brittany Smith, said, “I was outside with my newborn baby and my oldest daughter, and she was running across to the neighbor’s house, and Layden was right by my feet, and I’m trying to call the police while I take care of them, and I just glanced away for a second and he ran back in the house.”

Layden was later found under a bed and likely died of smoke inhalation. source