VIDEO: Family Loses Daughter to Lake Electrocution

Burying a child is something no parent should ever have to do. Unfortunately, it happens. These two parents have experienced the excruciating pain of losing their child. A tragic accident that no one could have foreseen led to fifteen-year-old Carmen Johnson’s death. Her parents are now speaking out on the dangers of swimming in a lake and faulty electric lines, in hopes of preventing other tragedies from happening.

Join their cause and read the full story below, provided by CBS 42!

As investigators look into the possibility that two women were electrocuted before being found dead on Lake Tuscaloosa last weekend, parents who lost their teen in 2016 hope their tragic story warns others of the dangers of electric shock drownings.

Shelly Darling and Elizabeth Whipple were found dead Saturday. Tuscaloosa County officials are waiting on a cause of death from the medical examiner’s office.

Monday, officials said one of their investigators was shocked during the search for the two women, but was not hurt.

Jimmy and Casey Johnson lost their 15-year-old daughter Carmen at their house on Smith Lake last year.

“Easter Sunday was one year exactly that we lost Carmen,” said Jimmy Johnson, Carmen’s father.

Johnson said his daughter died after water entered a light switch box and charged their dock. The electric current then entered the water through the metal ladder she and her friend were swimming towards, Johnson said.

“I saw my daughter underwater and she was down about waist to this other girl who was hanging onto the ladder,” Johnson said.

Jimmy Johnson and his son both jumped into the water to try and help, only to feel the electric current.

“I knew enough that I was getting electrocuted that I started hollering, ‘cut the power to the boat dock, cut the power to the boat dock,’” Johnson recalled.

Electric shock drownings are again top of mind for the Johnson family after hearing about the recent deaths in Tuscaloosa County.

“It just kind of like re-opened, not really the wound in us, but still it brought sadness over us just knowing that someone else was going through what we went through,” said Casey Johnson.

Faulty dock wiring or damaged grounding systems can be to blame for an electric current that enters the water, weakening a swimmer long enough to drown

“Keep your electrical wiring and everything checked on your docks, make sure you have a ground fault breaker,” said Casey Johnson.

Officials warn swimmers not to get close to a dock or marine if they feel a shock or tingling in the water.

The Johnsons said some devices, like The Dock Lifeguard, can act as an early warning system.

While they know nothing will bring Carmen back, they hope their story helps others from experiencing their pain.

“It would mean a lot to Carmen, I know. So anything we can do to help save lives around the lake, we’re going to try to do our best to do that,” said Jimmy Johnson.

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