Investigation continues into Michigan hyperbaric chamber explosion that killed 5-year-old boy
(CBS DETROIT) - Investigators continue to search for answers after a 5-year-old Royal Oak boy was killed when a hyperbaric oxygen chamber exploded last week.
Troy police said it happened Friday morning at the Oxford Center off Livernois near Maple.
Police said Thomas Cooper, 5, was inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber when it exploded and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The boy's mother was also injured.
Troy police and fire departments said during a news conference that hyperbaric chambers are filled with 100% oxygen and are therefore combustible devices, but did not indicate what may have led to the explosion.
CBS Detroit learned that the director of the Oxford Center pleaded guilty in August to several felony charges, including impersonating a health care professional and witness intimidation.
According to the Michigan Attorney General's office, Kimberly Copen was initially charged with 16 counts of unauthorized health practice and two counts of identity theft.
Thomas Cooper's family has retained the Geoffrey Fieger Law Firm.