CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. (WFLA/CNN) – The parents of a 9-year-old California girl who died in a swimming pool last week are opening up about the tragedy.
McKenzie Kinley was swimming in her dad’s backyard pool on July 14 with three friends when she was electrocuted.
“I know they were racing from one end of the pool to the other and I guess apparently she got to the other side of the pool and grabbed ahold of the cord of the light that’s all I know. The next thing you know I got the worst phone call I could ever have.” McKenzie’s father, Cliff Kinley, said.
The family says the light was under repair and to their knowledge it was not connected to a power source.
“Everybody thinks, they watch these tragic stories on the news, they think, ‘not me, not in my house.’ I thought it. It happened to me in my house. (pause) Take the few minutes and check.” McKenzie’s mother, Elizabeth Moore, said.
Police are looking into whether any work being done on the home had proper permits and inspections.
Experts said anytime electrical work is done on a pool, there should be a permit and inspection before anyone goes into the water.
