OXON HILL, MD -- A six-year-old child remains in critical condition from an electrocution at MGM National Harbor that happened back in June.
She and another child were shocked when they touched an electrified railing. The on-gong investigation is focusing on the installation of the handrail, its wiring and the LED driver, according to Prince George's County officials.
Avis Thomas-Lester, a spokeswoman for the county's permitting and inspections department said in a statement, "based on the findings of the forensic expert, the railings were improperly installed."
The children were on the MGM's outdoor plaza, which surrounds a huge fountain when they touched one of the handrails and received an electrical shock. The handrails are equipped with strips of LED lights underneath the top rung. LED lights run on just 12 volts of electricity. To reduce the standard 120 volt current, an LED driver is needed.
"The driver is basically a transformer, it steps the voltage down from 120 to 12 volts," said Electrician Tom Anderson.
It would be unlikely to be injured by such a small voltage of 12.
"It could shock you but it won't typically do a damaging shock like it sounds like she got," said Anderson.
The Washington Post, which first reported on the investigation, quotes documents from a Prince George's County investigation.
It reports that "four drivers were grouped in a single box together which inhabited airflow and posed a a risk of overheating."
Also, that "the insulation on the outside of the wiring wore away, exposing copper conductors that made contact with the the handrail"...and sent an electrical current to the LED driver...causing it to fail and allowing 120 volts to flow through the handrail.
Some of the railings at MGM are less than four feet apart, making it possible a child could have touched both sides at the same time.
"If she had both hands, (one on each railing) and one rail may have grounded her and the other rail may have been energized so it may have gone through her body and it can affect the heart at that point," said Anderson.
Thomas-Lester said lighting for the railing on the plaza has been de-energized and temporary lighting has been approved and installed.
The incident happened on June 26, 2018. The second child who also touched the handrail was pulled to safety by the children's mother.
A security guard helped the mother rescue the second child, who was then passed to a Prince George's County police officer who had responded to the scene to assist.
The officer performed CPR on the child at the scene and during transport to a local hospital. The child was then flown to a trauma center in critical condition.
MGM released the following statement on Wednesday:
“This was a tragic accident and our thoughts continue to be with the young girl and her family. The safety of our guests is something we take very seriously. MGM National Harbor has been working closely with multiple county agencies, including the County Fire Department and independent forensic experts, in their efforts to determine a cause. As this is an ongoing review, we cannot comment until official conclusions are presented and a final report is issued.”
The Prince George’s County Police Department is leading the multi-agency investigation into the June 26th incident.
Police they will not release further information in order to protect the integrity of the investigation.
