CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) –
A 12-year-old girl was badly injured Thursday when she touched a power line, according to authorities. She went into electrical cardiac arrest. East Cleveland Fire was the first on scene with advanced life saving equipment and were able to shock the girl and bring her pulse back. Police have identified the girl as Gasia Thomas.
She was taken to Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. She remains in critical condition.
Police said the incident occurred at E. 130th and Iroquois, while she was walking home from school on Cleveland’s east side.
According to doctors she was still clutching the wire when found by a family member.
“We know at least several minutes, before someone initiated CPR,” said Dr. Anthony Deross.
Gasia’s prognosis is unclear.
“She has severe burn injuries to certain portions of her body. But electrical burns you see on the surface of the skin is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the damage that it does to the system and the body,” said Dr. Deross.
According to Maureen Harper, Cleveland’s Chief of Communications, the power line belongs to CEI.
A spokesperson with CEI says they are aware of this incident and it is being investigated. At this point it is not clear if the line was called in as a downed line or not but as soon as they were notified of the incident a crew was sent out to inspect the line and take care of the problem.
People are encouraged to call in any downed lines. You can report downed lines by calling 911 or your local utility company.
http://www.19actionnews.com/story/19980735/girl-shocked-by-power-line-in-critical-condition
Article Courtesy of WOIO 19 Action News
