Teen Jumps Into Lake, Is Killed by Electric Current

Evan Currie was trying to save his father and the family dog
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 21, 2017 8:21 AM CDT
Teen Electrocuted Trying to Save Father, Dog
File photo.   (Getty/LAByrne)

A college student in Ohio is dead after he jumped into Lake Erie to save his struggling father and family dog, reports the Cincinnati Inquirer. Evan Currie's death wasn't a straight-forward case of drowning, however—he was also electrocuted. Authorities say the family had just plugged in their boat at Put-in-Bay to draw power when their dog jumped or fell into the water. Dad Jeffrey Currie jumped in to help the dog, and when he began to struggle, 19-year-old Evan Currie and his brother jumped in to help their dad. At that point, those on shore realized what was happening, and power to the boat was cut off.

Everybody made it out of the water safely except Evan Currie, a student at Xavier University, and he could not be revived. “Evan sacrificed his life to try to save us,” Jeffrey Currie tells the Columbus Dispatch. "He's a hero." The incident happened on Father's Day. It's the second such death to make the news this week, the other involving a girl in New Jersey. It's not clear what happened in the Ohio incident, but authorities warn that improperly grounded docks and boat houses can send lethal currents of electricity into the water. (More electrocution stories.)

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