Severely burned Kerrville boy off ventilator

SAN ANTONIO – A 10-year-old Kerrville boy who suffered second- and third-degree burns in a shed fire is off his ventilator and is expected to survive.

Kayden Culp started to come out of a coma Tuesday, his mother, Tristyn Hatchett, said Wednesday.

Hatchett said that when her son came out of his coma, he asked his grandmother if he was dead, and that he was burned by some people. Hatchett said she was not in the room when her son woke up.

Kerrville police and fire officials last week said that the fire wasn't premeditated and that a flash fire is what burned Kayden. A juvenile who is believed to have poured gasoline on the fire, and was identified as the person who caused Kayden's burns, was arrested and charged with first-degree arson.

Hatchett also said that Kayden is "coming and going" as doctors wean him off the sedation. Kayden remains in the Intensive Care Unit at University Hospital.