Texas police are investigating whether a 14-year-old teenager was electrocuted while trying to charge her cellphone when she was having a bath.
Madison Coe died Sunday when she was visiting her father in Lovington, N.M.
The cause of her death is still being investigated, however, initial evidence suggests electrocution. Her cellphone, charging cord and extension cord were found next to the bathtub, police said.
Coe’s mother and grandmother say they believe she was electrocuted when she grabbed her cellphone while its charging cable was plugged into a live extension cord.
“There was a burn mark on her hand, the hand that would have grabbed the phone,” Coe’s grandmother told KCBD-TV.
“This is such a tragedy that doesn’t need to happen to anyone else. And we want something good to come out of this as awareness of not using your cellphone in the bathroom as it is plugged in and charging,” she said.
A GoFundMe page created by family friends in Coe’s honour has already raised over $9,000.
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“She was a shining star and a light for all. Madison enjoyed helping others before she would help herself,” a friend stated on the page.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission told USA Today that it is investigating the incident.
Phone safety around water
Gail Botten with the Canadian Red Cross said it’s extremely dangerous to have anything with an electrical current near water, as tiny as the item may be.
“It’s the same as having a plugged-in toaster near a sink,” she said. “Water and electricity do not mix.”
She said in this specific case, a phone charger was enough to prove fatal.
“Everyone has a phone these days, so it’s a good reminder to make sure to keep any electric device away from water.”
— With files from the Canadian Press
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