One Child Dead, Another Hospitalized After Touching Live Power Line Near Michigan Elementary School

A tragic accident near a Michigan elementary school has left one child dead and another hospitalized after they came into contact with a live power line on Tuesday, authorities said.

Incident Overview

Police in Leslie say two boys came in contact with a live power line outside an apartment building near Woodworth Elementary School in the Leslie Public School district. Leslie is about 25 miles south of Lansing on US 127.

Officials with Consumers Energy confirm with WILX-TV that the two boys came in contact with the wire. Both boys were taken to the hospital. One victim died at the hospital while the other is expected to survive.

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Consumers Energy went on to say that power in the area had to be shut off due to the incident.

Official Statements

Authorities urge everyone to treat all downed power lines as live and to stay at least 30 feet away 

Consumers Energy issued this statement to news outlets:

Consumers Energy responded to an incident at Woodworth Elementary School in Leslie today [Tuesday]. We are deeply saddened to confirm that one young person lost their life and another was injured after coming into contact with a live electric line. While we do not have updates on the condition of the injured individual, our thoughts are with their loved ones during this difficult time, and we are hoping for a full recovery. As a safety measure, we temporarily de-energized the electric circuit serving the area, affecting service to 488 customers. Our team is on site, investigating the situation.