After Harbourside Place electrocution, lawyers investigate if fountain shocked other visitors

Maya Washburn, Palm Beach Post
Updated ·5 min read

JUPITER — Dina Fleck said she immediately started crying when she heard what happened to Nate Davenport at the Harbourside Place fountain in Jupiter on Oct. 22. It could have been her who died, or one of her friends.

Fleck said she felt an electrical shock on July 10, when she touched its waters during a visit to the waterfront retail and dining complex. She said she tried to tell a Harbourside Place employee about the problem, but he “dismissed it and didn’t believe” her.

Fifteen weeks later, Nate died from electrocution after he jumped into the fountain to pull out three children who had jumped in to play in its pools.

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The children suffered electrical shocks, and Seth Kozak, the friend who pulled Davenport from the water after he jumped in trying to save them, also sustained injuries.

“When I found out about the electrocution incident, I immediately started crying," Fleck said this week. "If one of my friends went into the fountain in July, I can just imagine what would have happened. Things would have ended differently for us.”

To date, Fleck, a Palm Beach Gardens resident, is the only person to come forward to police and say she felt an electrical shock recently at the fountain. She may not be the last.

The families of Davenport and Kozak have hired attorneys to represent them. One said Thursday he has heard from other people who claimed they also felt electrical shocks from the fountain as they examine the families' legal options.

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Dina Fleck of Palm Beach Gardens said she took this photo on Monday, July 10, 2023, of the fountain in Harbourside Place in Jupiter and shared it with police in their investigation into the Oct. 23 electrocution death of Nate Davenport. Fleck said she felt an electrical shock when she put her arm into the water and noticed an exposed wire in the pool.

A spokesperson for Harbourside Place, however, said Thursday that the complex’s owners were never made aware of any dangerous conditions at the fountain before the electrocution incident.

“This is an ongoing investigation, but Harbourside has never been made aware of any previous safety concerns or issues in the amphitheater area. Thousands of children have enjoyed this space without incident until the tragic events on Oct. 22,” the spokesperson said.

One of the children injured in the incident told police about noticing broken lights within the fountain before feeling an electrical shock, according to a report police released Tuesday.

The report said Davenport and Kozak visited the complex with their children on the afternoon of Oct. 22 and had lunch on the patio outside the Jupiter Grill, which sits just east of the fountain and splash pad at the north end of Harbourside Place.

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Three of their children went to play in the fountain and splash-pad area, which was within eyeshot of where the two men were sitting. Posted signs tell visitors that swimming and playing in the fountain are prohibited.

One of the children fell into the water just before 3:30 p.m. He was in the water for only about 30 seconds before he felt an electrical current go through his body, according to the police report. He lost consciousness. One other child felt a shock in one of his legs. The third never felt a shock.

Upon hearing the children screaming, Davenport jumped in to help and immediately fell. Kozak got in the water to help Davenport but felt a shock, and then another one as he reached to help his child.

One of the children helped Kozak from the water, and he pulled Davenport out and began performing CPR until police and Palm Beach County Fire Rescue arrived.

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Nate Davenport's family asks court to bar release of photos, video of incident

Nate Davenport, 45, of Jupiter died following an electrical incident on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, at Harbourside Place. Davenport dived into the fountain at the retail-and-restaurant complex to pull his children from the water.
Nate Davenport, 45, of Jupiter died following an electrical incident on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, at Harbourside Place. Davenport dived into the fountain at the retail-and-restaurant complex to pull his children from the water.

Scott Smith of Palm Beach Gardens is representing Amy Davenport, Nate’s surviving spouse. He said Thursday that multiple people have come forward to him with statements about other shock incidents at the fountain. Jupiter police said Friday that no one other than Fleck had reported other incidents to its investigators.

“The electric current in the fountain is a highly dangerous condition,” said Jack Scarola of West Palm Beach, who is representing Kozak. “There is an obligation on behalf of all of those who were in a position to prevent that dangerous condition to take all measures to assure that shocks did not occur or persist once they occurred.”

Amy Davenport this week has sued the Town of Jupiter seeking to ban police from releasing any photos or video of the incident, saying their release would be "highly damaging and harmful to the physical, mental and emotional well-being" of her and her children.

Circuit Judge Luis Delgado had not yet scheduled a hearing on the request as of Friday morning.

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Dina Fleck of Palm Beach Gardens told Jupiter police that she felt an electrical shock in the fountain at Harbouside Place in Jupiter on Monday, July 10, 2023. Fifteen weeks later, Nate Davenport of Jupiter died from electrocution after pulling children from the fountain's pools after they reported feeling electrical shock.
Dina Fleck of Palm Beach Gardens told Jupiter police that she felt an electrical shock in the fountain at Harbouside Place in Jupiter on Monday, July 10, 2023. Fifteen weeks later, Nate Davenport of Jupiter died from electrocution after pulling children from the fountain's pools after they reported feeling electrical shock.

Fleck remembers the day vividly even without photos. She docked at Harbourside Place after taking a PonTiki boat cruise with some friends on the afternoon of July 10. She sat at the border of the fountain and let its running water run over her hand to cool off on the hot summer day.

That was when an electric current ran through her arm.

“I was stunned by the shock. It was a strong tingling sensation in my hand that went up to my arm and lasted for a couple of minutes afterward,” Fleck said. “It was an intense tingling feeling.”

When she told her friends what happened, they too felt the water and received shocks. They were also shocked by the water coming up from the splash pad and the coverings around its spigots

Fleck said that the electric current from the fountain was much stronger than the splash pad. She noticed multiple electrical wires sticking up out of the fountain that day, but said did not see any broken lights in the fountain.

“There was an electric current in literally every part of that splash pad and fountain area," she said.

Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Fountain electrocution: Harbourside visitor recalls shock in Jupiter