A Michigan teenager was fatally electrocuted when she mistook a downed power line for a stick in her backyard.
Elizabeth Jacobson, 14, was killed at her home in Monroe at around 7.40pm on Monday after a thunderstorm swept through the area, according to Monroe News.
The Monroe Public Safety Department said in a statement that the teen was with a friend when they smelled a bonfire. Elizabeth then reached for what she thought was a stick but was actually a charged electrical line.
When emergency personnel arrived at the scene, she was still in contact with the energized electrical line.
The electrical company was contacted to disconnect the power line, but once the scene was safe, “it was obvious that she had succumbed to her injuries,” authorities said.
The Public Safety Department said the power line fell as a result of a passing thunderstorm on Monday.
Elizabeth’s mother told local news station WXYZ that after the storm, Elizabeth and her friend wanted to take a walk outside.
“They wanted to go out back and just walk circles, talk about boys, music, just stuff teenage girls do,” Martha Jean told the outlet. “They smelled something sweet, like a campfire ...”
“My daughter ... went to pick [what she believed was a stick] up, my daughter loves sticks. And 13,800 volts went through her body.”
The family has since said that electrical company DTE will be covering the costs of the funeral. Money raised in a GoFundMe earlier this week will be given to the family to help cover costs and expenses for their grieving time and for “moving out of the family home to avoid constant reminders and PTSD.”
