Posted on 07/10/2017 11:11:01 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A 14-year-old girl from Lubbock died early Sunday morning after being electrocuted in a bathtub.
Madison Coe's mother and grandmother tell us she was in the bathtub, and either plugged her phone in or simply grabbed her phone that was already plugged in. It happened at her father's house in Lovington, NM.
Madison just graduated 8th grade from Terra Vista Middle School in Frenship ISD.
"It is with heavy hearts that Frenship ISD mourns the loss of Madison Coe. We wish to share our heartfelt sympathy with her family and friends as we carry the burden of this tragedy together," officials with FISD said.
Madison was expected to attend high school in Houston, as her family was in the process of moving.
“I call her my shining star," her grandmother, Donna O'Guinn, said.
Madison Coe was a 14 year-old, wise beyond her years.
“She was very smart. Very good student in school. She just loved life," O'Guinn said.
Madison had so much of her life ahead of her, as she made an impact on those around her with her positivity and kindness.
She was a basketball player and the number one chair with her tuba in the band at Terra Vista Middle School.
“She was just sweet to everybody and everybody loved her," O'Guinn said.
As O'Guinn fights back the tears, she says it is hard to understand why her granddaughter’s life was taken far too soon.
Her family says Madison was in the bath tub and grabbed her phone that was plugged into a charger in a bathroom outlet.
“There was a burn mark on her hand, the hand that would have grabbed the phone. And that was just very obvious that that’s what had happened," O'Guinn said.
Madison's family believes this terrible accident is something that could happen to anyone.
But now their mission is to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“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 cell phone in the bathroom as it is plugged in and charging," O'Guinn said.
The post about Coe on Facebook continues to be shared, opening up many eyes to the power of electricity, and the danger of plugging in any electrical appliance that isn’t water-proof, near water.
“It’s overwhelming to realize that there are people that we don’t even know and we’ll probably never even meet that have taken this message and shared it to protect another child or even an adult. We don’t want to lose anybody," O'Guinn said.
So as Madison’s family mourns her loss, they have hope that this message will resonate with anyone who hears it.
It’s the positivity she always carried with her, continuing to make a difference in the world.
“We need to be aware. We need to teach our children that electricity and water do not mix," O'Guinn said. "She’s just going to be greatly missed by all of us. She has a special place in my heart."
There will be a memorial service for Madison Coe on Saturday, July 15th, at 2:00 p.m. at Kings Ridge Church of Christ in Lubbock.
The address is 4201 98th Street.
Ground-fault interrupters in the bathroom. Lifesavers
So true. I wish more people were aware of this fact.
Thanks Nick, I pray for her. I would trade my life for her own any day.
I didn’t think you could get high enough amperage out of 5 volt phone charger. I just had a look at my Apple cube charger and it says Output 5V 1A, so yeah, I guess that IS enough. I think only have an amp or less is lethal, no? I just assumed these were low enough voltage (and disregarded amperage altogether) that an accident like that wouldn’t happen with a phone.
I was thinking the same thing and wondering if the outlet was protected.
Being electromechanical devises they are not perfect. And most homeowners never test them to ensure that they are in good working order.
Regardless of if your outlets are protected or not they should not be trusted to save your life. Do not use electric devises in close proximity to open water. And at no time use electrical devises when IN the water.
Cute. What a shame. RIP.
Apparently only 30mA can be lethal when it passes though the heart, as what happened in this case. Sad.
Electricity and water...never a good kix
One amp can kill you...
But aren’t those for things that have plugs to the wall? Cell phone, no plugs.
I’m surprised it hasn’t happened more often given how we are fused to our phones.
They showed that the only reason a (modern) hairdryer won't kill you is they have an integrated GFCI breaker in the plug, otherwise it definitely would kill you.
>>I never watched Mythbusters, buta friend said they “proved”it was a myth that >>you would die if your hairdryer/TV fell in the bathtub.
I find that ludicrous. That’s basically a 120v ~60A charge right through you. If you are IN the tub you’re a gonner. If you’re standing up in the tub you might get lucky though. I could be totally ignorant about something and wrong on this, but I don’t think so.
Aha, see #14. Thanks, MrShoop.
My new electric shaver will not turn on if’s on the charger, and the charger is plugged in.
Something is really suspicious here. 30 milli amps, (0.030 amps, thirty thousandths of an Amp) when applied across the heart, is minimum lethal amperage. BUT YOU NEED ENOUGH VOLTAGE to penetrate the skin to overcome its resistance. Dry skin can resist 75 volts in ideal conditions, 30 Volts or less is considered relatively safe.
NO WAY IN HELL is 5 volts from a cell phone charger enough to penetrate skin and cause death. For example, take a 9 Volt battery and handle it in the bathtub. It is DC, just like the charger output, but almost double the voltage, and capable of more than 30 mA, nothing will happen.
The only way I can see it happening is if the charger was plugged into an extension cord and she grabbed the 120 Volt extension cord side of the charger (where it plugs in) with a dripping wet hand. Previous posters were right in recommending a GFCI (ground fault breaker). They are required in all wet locations.
GFCI work by measuring not only total amperage, i.e. 15 Amps or 20 Amps, but also measuring difference between what goes out hot side and what returns to the box on the neutral side. If there is more than 5 mA (0.005 Amps, 5 thousandths of an Amp) difference, like when some current is going to ground through you, instead of returning to the breaker box, they will immediately trip off.
Five volts isn't going to kill you unless it's surgically connected to your heart (medical device engineers need to take special care). The electrical resistance of the human body is high enough that five volts will not cause a harmful current to flow, unless the connection is surgically good.
It's overwhelmingly likely that her charger was defective. Example:
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