Matthew Radar, 4, died after ingesting cinnamon.
Kentucky TV station WLEX was first to report the horrible story of a 4-year-old boy who died after finding powdered cinnamon in the kitchen, and eating it.
Soon after ingesting the common cooking spice, the child began choking and collapsed. The coroner ruled his death accidental.
From the WLEX story (there's video here):
"He started choking, it was like he was having a seizure and just collapsed," says his mother.
Matthew was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead an hour and a half later. The coroner says cinnamon can cause asphyxiation when inhaled.
Teens and adults have participated in an online trend called "The Cinnamon Challenge," in which they attempt to eat large amounts of the powder. Matthew's mother want his death, although not related to the Cinnamon Challenge, to serve as a warning for others.
"To let people know cinnamon can kill. All these kids to the cinnamon challenge. They don't think about the fact it can hurt them," she says.
This is not the first time that "The Cinnamon Challenge" viral phenomenon has been linked to deaths and serious injuries in young people.
"This is a dangerous practice which can result in choking, aspiration of cinnamon powder into the lungs, and even respiratory failure requiring a ventilator in extreme cases," Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told CBSNews.com for a 2013 story.
"The stunt can also be deadly as a result of lack of oxygen to the brain in cases of choking and aspiration of the powder."
