Detroit mom mourns death of special needs son killed in house fire

DETROIT (WJBK) - A Detroit mother who lost her special needs son in a house fire earlier this month is trying to begin again.

The blaze killed Sharon Johnson's 14-year-old son, Derrick, who was in a wheelchair and had cerebral palsy.

"They came back from the ambulance and told me that Derrick didn't make it," Johnson says. "And I flipped. I was really trying to save him, to find him so I could get him out of there."

Sharon Johnson and her two children Derrick, 14, and Shania, 16, were inside their home on Riad Avenue on Detroit’s east side when the fire began early in that November morning.

Sharon says she went outside to look for some pape work and her daughter, Shania, came out to the car and told her there was a fire in her son’s room.

“I run in the house hysterical but there was so much smoke,” says Sharon, who, herself, suffered smoke inhalation. Her daughter was able to make it out.

Sharon says she battled the flames and smoke to try to get to her son, but she couldn't. He was trapped inside.

Detroit fire crews arrived shortly after the fire began and found Derrick deceased.

"I loved my baby. I am going to miss him so much," Sharon says. “I was praying to the lord asking him to find my baby."

Fire investigators said the blaze was caused by an electrical issue and has been ruled accidental.

If you’d like to help the family, you can do so via their GoFundMe account here.