Monroe girl, 14, electrocuted by downed wire, remembered as `ray of sunshine'

Monday night's storm turned deadly when a 14-year-old Monroe girl was fatally electrocuted by a downed power line in her backyard.

The victim has been identified as Elizabeth Jacobsen, who lived in the 1400 block of Peters Street, where the accident occurred. Monroe Police reported that she was walking with a friend in the backyard of her residence when they thought they smelled a bonfire. Elizabeth reportedly reached for what she believed was a stick, but it was actually the downed electrical line that remained charged.

Earlier report:14-year-old fatally electrocuted in Monroe in aftermath of thunderstorm

Monroe Public Safety officers and firefighters, as well as personnel from Monroe County Ambulance, responded to the scene around 7:41 p.m. They discovered Elizabeth was still in contact with the energized electrical line. She had succumbed to her injuries.

"She was a very sweet little girl and she was full of life," said The Rev. Heather Boone, a family friend and pastor of Oaks of Righteousness. "This is just a terrible tragedy and my heart breaks for the family and this community. She will be missed."

Monroe Public Schools interim Superintendent Andrew Shaw issued a statement "with great sadness" that the the loss of a member of the district was tragic. He encouraged parents to discuss with their children feelings they might be experiencing as part of the healing process.

"Our hearts are with her family and all who knew and loved Elizabeth," Shaw wrote. "There are no words to express the loss of this sweet girl who had her whole life ahead of her."

He stated that Elizabeth would have been a freshman at Monroe High School this year after completing eighth grade at Monroe Middle School "where she touched classmates and staff with her kindheart and bright smile."

He added that she will be dearly remembered by teachers and staff at Raisinville and Custer where she attended elementary school. The district will provide support to students and staff with social-emotional team members present at the middle school today to address student questions and needs for support. Counselors and social workers are available to any students or staff wishing to speak with someone at school.

Former MPS superintendent Julie Everly remembered Elizabeth as a ray of sunshine.

"For many, many years Elizabeth has been a ray of sunshine in our school and local community," Everly said. "She was so excited to finally be a teenager. Elizabeth had a unique instinct to know when someone needed a smile, a hug or friendship. She never hesitated to extend herself to someone in need whether she knew them or not. The loss of Elizabeth leaves us with heavy hearts as we remember what an inspiration she was to all in the school and Monroe community."

DTE reported that more than 260,000 customers remained without power Tuesday due to the severe storms and 70 mph winds that swept through Michigan. Officials crews were securing the more than 3,300 downed power lines. They said they expect to restore 80% of customers impacted by this storm by end of day Thursday.

DTE also requested anyone to report downed power lines or outages.

"Please be safe and remember to stay at least 20 feet from any downed power lines — assume they are live and dangerous," DTE said.

At the Jacobsen residence on Peters Street, DTE crews were on the scene to examine the back yard where the accident occurred. Elizabeth's step-sister, Elizabeth Chalupka, created a GoFundMe page to help raise donations.

"We were a little over three years apart in age...and she was the sweetest, most kind-hearted soul I ever met," Elizabeth wrote. "She loved everyone and had the world's biggest heart...This is an event that my family and I could have never predicted being in."

Thousands of Monroe County residences, mostly in the northern sections, remained without power Tuesday. It appeared most of the outages were north of the River Raisin in DTE territory with the exception of a large area in Monroe Township west of Telegraph Road and north of Dunbar Road. That area includes Monroe High School and the neighborhood known as Patterson Gardens, affecting between 1,500 and 2,500 customers in that area alone.

The storm apparently did most of its damage in northern Monroe County with the largest areas losing power in Carleton, Milan and Huron Township.

The Consumers Energy outage map for Monroe County showed only a smattering of outages, mostly in Bedford Township.

Staff member Blake Bacho assisted on this report.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Elizabeth Jacobsen remembered as `ray of sunshine'