Mother remembers 9-year-old son killed in fire, calls him miracle child

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C.,None — The mother of a 9-year-old boy killed in a house fire earlier this week spoke to Eyewitness News on Friday. Margretha Pinkney was rescued from that fire that started early Monday morning at her Huntersville home. Her son, Nikko'las Pinkney, died in that fire.

On Friday she said she didn't have any burns from the fire, but suffered from smoke inhalation. She whispered through an interview and told Eyewitness News all about her son.

"I was a very proud mother. He was everything," said Pinkney.

She called her 9-year-old son her miracle child.

"I was told I couldn't have children and at 38 I had him," she said.

The boy was an honor roll student at Waddell Language Academy. His mother said he loved learning, was fluent in Chinese and had an infectious personality.

At about 2 a.m. Monday, the fire in the family home on Holbrooks Road took the boy's life. Margretha Pinkney said she doesn't remember much from that night. She said she tucked Nikko in as he watched television in his room, and then she drifted off to sleep. Hours later, a fire ripped through the home. A relative rescued her, but couldn't get to Nikko.

"I remember waking up in the hospital and seeing my family," she said.

She said her family has helped her stay strong as she grieves the loss of her miracle son.

"Even though he came late in life, I got that opportunity. I had that opportunity to be a mother."

Fire investigators told Eyewitness News that they still don't know what caused the fire. A funeral for Nikko is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Friendship Baptist Church. The church is at 3301 Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte.

WSOC