Aging Pool Light In Need Of Repair Electrocuted Young Girl

CITRUS HEIGHTS (CBS13) — Citrus Heights police said a little girl, just shy of her tenth birthday, died after she was apparently electrocuted when a pool light malfunctioned.

So how does something like this happen?

We are learning more about the victim of this tragic situation. McKenzie Kinley, a nine-year-old girl originally from Loomis, was in a residential pool on Sunday when a light in the pool somehow malfunctioned.

Her parents said McKenzie wanted to go swimming on a hot summer day when this happened. This is devastating news and they are not prepared to bury their child.

They say an aging light that needed repair in their pool was the hidden danger that killed their daughter. There were four other kids in the pool at the time McKenzie was killed, they were checked out and are all okay.

READ: Attorneys: Electrocution Of Dixon Teens Could Have Been Prevented

The home where the accident happened was built in the late 1950s. Phillip Miller with A-Plus Pool and Spa says it's important to check your pools circuits and lights every month, especially with aging homes.

"The biggest problem with these pool lights is people don't understand that there's live voltage that's going under the water," Miller said. "These are immersed and sometimes they're under the water for 30 or 40 years. And as the lights get older the gaskets fail or the cords in the back fail and then it just starts filling up with water."

READ ALSO: Parents Warn Of Danger After Their Daughter Is Electrocuted In Family Pool

He says there is one tool you should have is a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, which protects you from electric shocks.

"If it drops in the water, it's going to stop the power fast enough to save your life," Miller said.

Miller said if you're not sure if your lights are hooked up correctly, be sure to cut the circuit until you can get it checked out.