Cherokee Lake Electrocution: Child Killed, More Injured

by NowPublic Staff | July 4, 2012 at 03:24 pm

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One Child Killed, Another Injured at Cherokee Lake in Tennessee

A child was electrocuted to death at Cherokee Lake on July 4, 2012. Two young boys, age 10 and 11, were electrocuted as they swam between two houseboats near the German Creek Marina.

The 11-year-old was revived at East Tennessee Children's Hospital, though it was initially reported that he had also died. Eight additional swimmers, children and adults, complained of pain consistent with electrocution.

It's not yet clear if the children were electrocuted in the water, or when they touched one of the houseboats.

The Grainger County EMA Director, Jeffrey Atkins, said there were 4 children swimming in between house boats at the Marine, when a woman noticed two of the children were unconscious.

She jumped in to help and told Atkins that's when she felt an electrical surge and got back out.

A month earlier, 20-year-old Justin Wade Banks drowned while swimming in Cherokee Lake.

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