MONROE, Mich. — A teenage girl walking with a friend was killed after touching an electrified line that had come down during a thunderstorm.
Public safety officials in Monroe, Michigan, said in a news release that the 14-year-old was walking with a friend in the backyard of her home on Monday evening when she reached down to pick up what she believed to be a stick. The stick was, in fact, a charged electrical line.
Officials told WTOL that the line was knocked down by high winds during a thunderstorm.
When police officers arrived at the scene, the teenager was still touching the line and officers had to wait for DTE energy to disconnect the power before they could try to help her, WDIV reported. By the time emergency teams could approach her, the teenager had died.
Officials said the teenager’s family was at the scene, and that the police department’s chaplains are offering them support.
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