Father mourns death of 10-year-old who drowned in swimming pool after being electrocuted

Author: Inside Edition
Published:
McKenzie Kinley went swimming in her dad's backyard pool when she was electrocuted while swimming. (Credit: CBS)
McKenzie Kinley went swimming in her dad’s backyard pool when she was electrocuted while swimming. (Credit: CBS)

A California 10-year-old was electrocuted while swimming and died Sunday.

McKenzie Kinley went swimming in her dad’s backyard pool in Citrus Heights while a light fixture in the pool was in the midst of a repair, according to police.

The fixture wasn’t sealed, and it’s believed McKenzie touched the light and then drowned after being shocked. Firefighters tried to revive the girl, but she died at the hospital.

Her father, Cliff Kinley, had left the house to run an errand when he got what he described as “the most devastating phone call I’ve ever received,” he told KOVR.

“As much as we know, she grabbed the pool light, and it electrocuted her,” Kinley said. “Thank goodness it didn’t get anyone else, because there were four other children in that pool.”

An investigation is underway, but her death has been ruled accidental.

A GoFundMe has been started to help the family with funeral costs. They described McKenzie as having a “bright personality and intelligent.”

“We are completely shaken and in shock that this could even happen and to take a beautiful little girl’s life away is unimaginable. She was the light of everyone’s lives around her,” the campaign reads.

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