Loved ones heartbroken after 12-year-old electrocuted in Detroit

DETROIT (WJBK) - It was a devastating evening on Wednesday when a 12-year-old girl was electrocuted on Detroit's west side.

Watching it all happen was 14-year-old Nautica Holmes who saw her friend, K'Brianna Griffin, be electrocuted by a live wire.

"I kind of can take it, but it's kind of hard for me to see because I literally had just sat there her just," Holmes said.

The two had been playing in Holmes' backyard Wednesday evening, recording videos on their cell phones, when Griffin accidentally walked into a downed power line.

"The cord kind got stuck in between her arm and then she got electrocuted," Holmes said.

Holmes and her family just moved into the house here on St. Mary's on Detroit's west side not even a month ago, no knowledge of the downed power line until this tragedy.

"Words can't even describe how I feel right now, knowing I had to see that. I had to watch it. ... It was just horrible," said Velma Brown, Holmes' mother.

Griffin's father learned what happened when he came to visit his little girl.

"Last night I was coming from school. I was going to stop and talk to her for a second, and when I pulled up this was the scene outside," said Kendrick Griffin.

Right now, he is grieving and angry after learning calls had been made by neighbors about the downed power line for possibly months, but nothing ever done about it.

"Of course this neighborhood's being ignored," Griffin said. "This is another example of Detroit tucking money and not doing their job when they are supposed to do their job."

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said he is learning there are miles of dormant power lines in the city that haven't been used for decades.

He said in this case a dormant line fell onto a live DTE line.

Now, it's time to figure out who had been responsible for fixing the problem.

"What happened between DTE and the public lighting department, I don't know. We're investigating that now. But it should have been addressed when it came down," Duggan said.

A spokesperson for DTE sent a statement:

"DTE and the city's Public Lighting Department (PLD), along with first responders, are diligently working together to factually understand how this tragic event occurred ... It doesn't matter whose line it is, it is about understanding what happened."

Griffin's father and mother are working on funeral arrangements, and trying to raise money to pay for the expenses.

"Her mother is heartbroken," Griffin said. "I'm heartbroken. She was real vibrant. She loved dance. She was real energetic; playful. Everybody knew her."

The victim's father also said he is planning to hire an attorney and take legal action.