ROCKY TOP, Tenn — Every moment matters for one family. A car fire in the Rocky Top area on July 5 led to the death of a young member of their extended family. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is still looking into the car fire.
Authorities said 1-year-old Oakley died after a car caught fire and hospitalized his young brothers. His brothers are 3-year-old Maximus and 2-year-old Hendrix.
"Little by little, Hendrix is in a lot better shape than Maximus is, but they're both in the ICU and their father got readmitted to Vanderbilt with them," said Kayla Hann, the brother's cousin.
Hann lives in Atlanta. She said she was enjoying time on a four-day weekend when she said she got a call from her aunt, Jackie. Hann said she and her mom knew something was not normal because of the repeated calls.
Soon after those missed calls, they found out her 1-year-old cousin, Oakley, had died in a car fire.
"We weren't told until, about, two or three hours after we got the initial phone call that he didn't make it and that just sent everything into a whirlwind," Hann said.
That day, those had gone out with their father. Hann said the family went to a gas station to refill the car's tank and buy the children a treat. During the trip, the vehicle was found burning at Norris Freeway and Mason Street. One witness said there were two booms.
"It wasn't anything crazy my aunt was home cleaning up doing whatever a mom does when the kids are away," she said.
Now the boys are being brave, Hann said, as they are trying to recover. She said the boys' father was also at the hospital getting treated for injuries.
"Maximus is still in the ICU on a breathing tube, but making improvements. Every second, every second matters," Hann said. "And Hendrix, he has third-degree burns on his left side."
The Coal Creek General Store is accepting donations for the family.
"We appreciate that more than anybody will ever know and we wish we could individually help every single person who has said a prayer or sent money," Hann said.