Boston, Massachusetts —
A Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge on social media died from eating a large quantity of chile pepper extract and also had a congenital heart defect, according to autopsy results obtained by The Associated Press.
Harris Wolobah, a 10th-grader from the city of Worcester, died on September 1, 2023, after eating the Paqui chip as part of the manufacturer’s “One Chip Challenge.”
“We were and remain deeply saddened by the death of Harris Wolobah and extend our condolences to his family and friends,” Paqui, a Texas-based subsidiary of the Hershey Co., said in a statement Thursday. A phone number listed for Harris’ family was disconnected. The Associated Press left messages seeking comment with friends of the family.
Harris died of cardiopulmonary arrest “in the setting of recent ingestion of food substance with high capsaicin concentration,” according to the autopsy from the Chief Office of the Medical Examiner. Capsaicin is the component that gives chile peppers their heat.
The autopsy also said that Harris had cardiomegaly, meaning an enlarged heart, and a congenital defect described as “myocardial bridging of the left anterior descending coronary artery.”
A myocardial bridge occurs when a segment of a major artery of the heart runs within the heart muscle instead of on its surface, according to Dr. James Udelson, chief of cardiology at Tufts Medical Center.
“It is possible that with significant stimulation of the
