An 18-year-old man from Colorado died after being electrocuted in Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia over the Fourth of July 2024 holiday weekend. Jesse Hamric was visiting the lake with family and friends early Thursday morning when the incident occurred.
Two others, who witnessed Hamric in distress, jumped into the water to rescue him but were also shocked. They managed to get Hamric out and begin CPR when emergency responders arrived. Hamric was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, and the other two were treated for injuries at the scene.
According to the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, Hamric dove into the lake and was struck by a lethal electric current. “Stray voltage at a dock caused the electrocution,” a spokesperson said. The presence of the current was confirmed by a fireboat crew using a Shock Alert tester. A boat lift found on the deck might have been the cause of the electrocution.
Assistant Chief of Smith Mountain Lake Volunteer Fire and Rescue, Ray Talley, mentioned that this was their first fatality from an electrocution incident at the lake, despite frequent calls about stray voltage. Talley reported, “We found over 200 millivolts per foot of voltage in the water, the maximum the tester can read.”
Hamric recently graduated from Steamboat Springs High School in Colorado, where he excelled as the starting quarterback and was a notable baseball player. His father, Jay Hamric, serves as Steamboat Springs High School’s principal and coaches the football team. His mother, Heidi Hamric, teaches at Strawberry Park Elementary School.
The Steamboat Springs School District issued a statement expressing condolences and offering support to students and staff: “During this difficult time, the Steamboat Springs School District wanted to provide our families, staff, and students with the opportunity to find comfort and community with one another by opening the doors to the high school to anyone who needed support. Leaning on one another is more important now than ever. We thank the mental health and crisis support professionals assisting our school community in processing this tragedy.”
Jesse’s friend, Alex Schwab, described him as “always happy and uplifting. Our whole snowboarding community has come together. It’s just such a tragic thing. Honestly, he was just such a special person.”
Following the tragic event, a GoFundMe campaign was created to assist the Hamric family and to establish the “Jesse Cyrus Hamric Foundation for Courage and Love.” This initiative has raised more than $94,000.