Sulfuric Acid Burns 4 Kids in Domestic Assault Attempt on Mother

Cynthia Darlene Stout, 43, told authorities that her boyfriend was trying to throw the substance on her during an argument in their pickup truck and that it hit the children instead.

Compton said that they are preparing charges against the man, who has not yet been arrested.

Stout was arrested Wednesday on a charge of child endangerment after three of her children, ages 14, 7 and 4, were badly burned by the acid. Compton said Stout tried to walk away from the truck near a cafe in Woodbine while the man took the 18-month-old to a nearby residence where a woman washed down the infant with water.

Deputies were able to locate the 18-month-old through witnesses at the scene, Compton said, adding that Stout was apprehended while trying to leave the cafe without the three older children. He said she had walked 500 to 600 yards down the road when she was caught by police.

The corrosive properties of sulfuric acid are accentuated by its highly exothermic reaction with water. Hence burns from sulfuric acid are potentially more serious than those of comparable strong acids (e.g. hydrochloric acid), as there is additional tissue damage due to dehydration and particularly due to the heat liberated by the reaction with water...

The standard first aid treatment for acid spills on the skin is, as for other corrosive agents, irrigation with large quantities of water: Washing should be continued for at least ten to fifteen minutes in order to cool the tissue surrounding the acid burn and to prevent secondary damage. Contaminated clothing must be removed immediately and the underlying skin washed thoroughly.