TROY, Mich. (WXYZ) — Court continued Monday for the four people charged in the death of a 5-year-old boy who was killed in a hyperbaric chamber explosion in Troy earlier this year.
The preliminary hearing picked back up from September.
Watch Carli Petrus' video report below:
Prosecutors say the death of 5-year-old Thomas Cooper at The Oxford Center was preventable.
All four people being charged were present as the preliminary hearing continued after a two-month break. Tamela Peterson, the CEO of The Oxford Center; Gary Marken, the manager; Aleta Moffitt, the operator of the machine; and Jeffrey Mosteller, the safety director have all been charged in connection with Thomas’ death.
Watch our previous coverage of the second day of the hearing when a hyperbaric chamber expert testified:
He was killed when the hyperbaric chamber he was receiving treatment in exploded on Jan. 31, 2025.
Prosecutors called on their third witness, Andrew Melnyczenko, the technical and safety director of hyperbaric medicine for the Mayo Clinic.
"About 40 minutes passed from the time the chamber was pressurized to the moment where a flame was seen," said Melnyczenko, who said he reviewed video of the tragic incident.
"What I observed was that Thomas was moving about in the chamber from left to right and then up and down the gurney and in doing so, he exposed a portion of the mattress… his left knee moved toward the mattress and that's where the flame was seen."
Melnyczenko testified that industry standard safety protocols were not followed by The Oxford Center in this case.
Watch the first day of the hearing when a former employee testified below:
The prosecution asked Melnyczenko if he saw that Thomas was not wearing a grounding strap before the explosion.
"That's correct," Melnyczenko responded.
The preliminary hearing continues Tuesday.
