11-year old N.Y. girl electrocuted while playing mini golf in Fla.

Mini golf course at Orange Lake Resort. / WKMG

(CBS/AP) ORLANDO, Fla. - A medical examiner says an 11-year-old New York girl was electrocuted while trying to retrieve a ball from a pond at a time-share resort's miniature golf course near Orlando.

Orange County deputies say Ashton Jojo cried out in pain Wednesday afternoon as she stepped into the 2-foot-deep pond. Orange Lake Resort guest Christopher Burges of Alabama heard her screams and tried to rescue her. He was also injured.

The girl died shortly after arriving at Florida Hospital Celebration.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner confirmed electrocution as the cause of death Thursday.

A building safety department official said that the electrocution was likely caused by a possible faulty pump connected to an improper circuit breaker, reports CBS affiliate WKMG.

Watch a WKMG report on the story here

Authorities say the Latham, N.Y., girl turned 11 on Friday. She was visiting Orlando with her parents and brother.

[Haw_Haw]

when shes looking down from your heaven she can be happy she made her family millionaires!

[Roz_R]

This tragic story and faulty cable definitely sounds like the silent
killer Contact Voltage. Unfortunately, dozens of humans and animals have
been killed by electrocution from contact voltage, which results from
faulty or damaged underground electrical wiring. Our organization's
(CVIC) mission is to educate the public, elected officials, and (most
importantly) utility companies about this so that tragedies like this
one are prevented.

You can learn more about the issue and how to help by visiting our site www.CVICFacts.org or signing our national petition aiming to contact voltage testing laws at http://www.change.org/petition...

[rightontarget]

What a horrible tragedy!!! I know that nothing can replace the life of this little girl but I would really try to sue the crap out of that resort. Put them out of business if possible.

[smartasss1]

they should stop allowing 120v water pumps on public areas. 12v pumps can do the job.

[FoolKiller]

I actually stayed at Orange Lake Resort four or five years ago. I don't have time to detail everything that went wrong and was wrong with the place, not the least of which was the (mis)management. Suffice to say I would NEVER stay there again. I can think of no worse place I have ever had the misfortune to stay at.

[MojitoMamma]

I'll bet a nickel the "electrical contractor" wasn't properly licensed, and the "inspectors" probably looked the other way. This was totally avoidable, and yes, everybody involved should be held responsible to the full extent of the law.

[nohater]

hope they sue the course owner, the company that installed the faulty pump, the manufacturer of the pump, the city if they do inspections of all electrical installations. an 11 y/o is dead. sue them all to blazes!

[knewsteerrrrr]

Wont do any good anyway, they all have INSURANCE and the insurance will be paying the bills.

[chonder2]

Being a NC state licensed electrician,I've learned that every area has their own code enforcement rules...

"Cherry pick" was a phrase you often hear.

My guess is that the "new construction" meaning the digging of the pond and drainline installation and motor/pump may have involved the inspection dept.But...after that the company maintenance guys take over.
It dosen't take much to trip a GFCI breaker by design.

Condensation in the motor windings...winding insulation slowly breaking down...branch circuit wiring nicked and being soaked with water.
Just a guess because I've seen it happen a hundred times,the maintenance guys get tired of resetting a tripped breaker and take out the GFCI and install a standard breaker.

I would really like to know if that equipment was "EVER" inspected by local building standards dept.

Also,when pressed is the resort going to fall back on "The Dog Ate Our Maintenance Records" routine??

[tmittelstaed]

I have a rainwater sump with a submersible pump in it. One day (unknown to me) the pump float came off the switch and the pump switched on, and ran and ran until it obviously burned up. I noticed it a few weeks later when the pump stopped working. I checked the circuit, it had power. I unplugged the pump, pulled it out, applied power - nothing. No breaker trip, no pump operation. I unplugged it then, being curious, took apart the pump - completely full of water. Quite surprising that it didn't trip the breaker until I remembered that pure water is an insulator. I assume the thermal switch on the thing must have failed.

[knewsteerrrrr]

You assume they even bothered to keep records of minor repairs, most likely any repairs done were done by some minimum wage guy who does the lawn upkeep, janitorial, replacing light bulbs and unstopping clogged toilets.

[inletbeach]

Wow. John Edwards should take this case. It is right up his alley. He needs the money right now.

[Nocults]

A victims attorney, who doesn't get paid unless he wins, up against entire law firms on the corporate payroll who make millions win or lose.
Those darn tort attorney's are ruining everything.

[tmittelstaed]

Code just about everywhere requires that a GFI be installed on anything that is used NEAR, let alone IN, water. These will trip on less current than is required for a lethal shock.

All the same there is a problem with the story. She didn't step into 2 feet of water. Can you imagine a 2 foot stair step? An adult couldn't step into this.

To get a lethal shock you generally need a path that goes through the heart. Like a hand-to-hand shock or a hand to leg shock. I would bet that she was kneeling down, with hands on the ground, turned, and put her leg into the water. That would have done it. The rescuer would likely also have not gotten shocked if he had just grabbed her and pulled her out - I would guess he jumped in the water, too.