Family mourns girl who died in electrocution

14-year-old girl was Glynn County resident

GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. – Friends and neighbors are mourning the death of a 14-year-old Glynn County girl who died Sunday night when she was electrocuted in what officials are calling a tragic accident.

Neighbors said Kayla White was a sweet girl who loved spending time with her best friends who lived one neighborhood over from where the accident happened. 

According to Glynn County Police Chief Matthew Doering, Kayla White was spending the night with her grandparents, who lived in a home on a property next to her home. There was a metal shed in between the two homes.

Overnight, rain had flooded the area and wiring in the shed somehow electrified the wet ground, he said.

As White was walking on the wet ground around 11 a.m. she touched the metal shed and was electrocuted.

Police were called to the home on McKenzie Drive in Sterling, Georgia, where they found the Glynn County Fire Department rendering aid to White.

White was later transported to an emergency room in the Southeast Georgia Health System where she was pronounced dead.

Police said they found the electrical hazard that they believe may have been the cause of the teen's death.

Another officer, who was also a certified electrician, was able to ensure the area was safe and not a hazard to anyone else.

A building inspector went to the property on Monday to investigate how the wiring in the shed may have caused the wet ground to become electrified.

One of Kayla's best friends, Josie Linville spoke to News4Jax she said Kayla was a very friendly person.

"She cared about her friends a lot. She wanted to be friends with everybody. She loved everybody. She wasn't mean. People were mean to her, but she was like what did I do. I'm sorry if I was mean to you, she would apologize to people and I know she didn't mean it," Linville said.

A group of Kayla's closet friends and classmates gathered near her front yard and held a vigil for her Monday evening.They held candles, cried, hugged, and remembered the girl they say was super friendly and a true country girl. Linville said she was born on Father's Day and had a special bond with her dad.

"She was a daddy's girl. She loved her daddy. She helped him on cars, went mud bogging with him. Solid country girl, no city in her. She loved her family a lot," said Linville.

Linville also said funeral arraignments are being made but she does not have any details on when it will be held.