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Teen Dies after Jumping into Lake  
 
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Electrocution may have been a factor in the drowning death of a teenage girl in Alabama in April. She and another teen had jumped off the dock and were swimming back in when the accident happened.

According to Fox 13 News the cause of her death was ruled an accidental drowning, but may have been due to a hidden danger that can be found near freshwater docks, marinas, and boats. They believe that Carmen Johnson, a 15-year-old Priceville High School cheerleader, was killed as a result of electric shock drowning (ESD) from electrical currents in the water "leaking" from the increasing number of electric appliances and devices on boats and docks. The result was essentially as if she had jumped into the bathtub with a plugged in hairdryer.

 

What is Electric Shock Drowning (ESD)?

Electric Shock Drowning Prevention Association website describes ESD as the result of the passage of a typically low level AC current through the body with sufficient force to cause skeletal muscular paralysis, rendering the victim unable to help himself/herself, while immersed in fresh water, eventually resulting in drowning of the victim. In the vast majority of ESDs, the victim’s autopsy shows no signs of electrical injury and investigators often never learn that electricity was the cause of the drowning. The typical victim of Electric Shock Drowning is a child swimming in or around a marina or dock where electricity is present. 

Why is it a silent killer? There is no visible warning or way to tell if water surrounding a boat, marina or dock is energized or within seconds will become energized with fatal levels of electricity. The electricity that enters the water and causes ESD originates from the wiring of the dock or marina, or from boats that are connected to the marina’s or dock’s power supply. If an electric fault occurs on a boat while it is connected to a marina’s or dock’s shore power and the boat or marina is not properly wired to meet current ABYC and NFPA standards, the water surrounding the boat will become electrified.

Preventing Electric Shock Drowning

Electric Shock Drowning FAQs

 

Visit the website Electric Shock Drowning Prevention Association for more information and additional resources. Their non-profit organization is devoted to saving the lives of those who frequent our recreation waters.

Mike Holt newsletters about pool deaths:

7-Year-Old Electrocuted in Family Pool

After recent tragic events in South Florida, counties push for better pool safety laws

Another Near Tragedy - Terrifying Video of Kids Shocked in Pool

Electrical Problems at a Boat Dock

Man Electrocuted in Pool After Jumping In to Save Daughter

Related links:

Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) Pool and Spa Safety

US Consumer Product Safety Commission Red Cross - Don’t Swim with Shocks [PDF]

 

 

 
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Comments

  • Stir some table salt into the water and see if you notice a difference. Distilled water is close to an insulator and regular tap water is depending upon what is dissolved in it. When I was in high school chemistry (1960) I did this experiment in front of the class for extra credit. I used a low voltage power supply to power a light bulb and then opened the circuit by placing two strips of sheet metal in a large beaker of distilled water separated by a few inches. The light bulb remained unlit; I then stirred various chemical salts into the water, including table salt, changing the water each time. I don't remember what chemical salts I used but table salt completed the circuit. This was a chemical experiment not an electrical demonstration.

    Charles  May 15 2016, 12:34 am EDT
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    • Reply from: rich   May 16 2016, 8:11 am EDT
    Thanks We noticed in our biomass boiler which uses a probe to sense low water conditions that we have to keep a certain amount of chemicals in it to keep a electrical reading to computer.
    Reply to rich

  • Excellent material. It is physically possible to detect voltage gradients in the water but not as yet technically possible. Some sharks can detect such gradients millions of times better than any electronic device produced. Their voltage sensors are on the sides and run the length of their sides. How they work and how they are used is still more conjecture than science.

    Bob  May 14 2016, 8:09 am EDT
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    • Reply from: Mike Holt   May 15 2016, 12:14 pm EDT
    It's actually very easy, I'll be making a video in the next few weeks.
    Reply to Mike Holt

  • Why is it that in this situation current flows through your/the victim's body? Why wouldn't you become the same potential as the water similar to a bird sitting on a high voltage wire?

    Trent  May 13 2016, 9:30 am EDT
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    • Reply from: rich   May 13 2016, 11:18 am EDT
    water is not conductive i was told this and have tried it several times and u dont get shocked or even get a meter reading through the water even a gfci in a bucket of water wont kick it try let me know.
    Reply to rich

    Reply from: Mike Holt   May 13 2016, 2:04 pm EDT
    I'll be creating a video in about a month that will explain this.
    Reply to Mike Holt

    Reply from: Ken Lillemo   May 13 2016, 11:51 am EDT
    You are a better conductor than fresh water because of electrolyte content. Your lower impedance means that you will carry a significant portion of a fault current. This is largely a fresh water marine issue. Salt water is a reasonably good conductor and so the conditions to set up ESD in salt water is much more difficult.
    Reply to Ken Lillemo

    Reply from: Mike Holt   May 13 2016, 2:03 pm EDT
    I'll be creating a video in about a month that will explain this.
    Reply to Mike Holt

  • What is interesting is that this kind of flow happens with high voltage circuits too and it's related with electrocuted animals in the field, and it's definitely a cause for bad quality electricity.

    Regarding the bodies of water issue, maybe additional protection is needed, like, a current sensor at the transformer's or power station's ground. When the sensor picks more than a given current coming in, the system should trip. Or boats could have a kind of GFCI system that disconnects the service to the boat when a leakage flow is detected.

    Julio Trujillo  May 13 2016, 9:14 am EDT
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  • How come when you can put hot and neutral leads into a bucket of water stick your hand into the bucket and not get shocked or even get a meter reading to ground or neutral .

    rich   May 13 2016, 8:26 am EDT
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    • Reply from: Mike Holt   May 13 2016, 8:44 am EDT
    I'm going to create a video to explain this.
    Reply to Mike Holt

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