Rowell's Park reopened after electrocution

The Monroe County government-owned waterfront Rowell’s Park reopened Wednesday, July 10, after being closed a day when a woman was reportedly electrocuted there and flown by air ambulance to a Miami-Dade County hospital on Monday night.

Elizabeth Tuckus was taken by air ambulance to Jackson South Medical Center and was in the intensive care unit after being severely shocked when she leaned against a light pole at the 8-acre park at about 7:30 p.m., the woman’s husband, John Tuckus, told The Keys Citizen, adding that she was briefly “stuck to the pole.”

The couple was at the park walking their dog when Elizabeth Tuckus leaned and placed her hand on a light pole near the bathrooms at the park, John Tuckus said. The electricity entered through her hand and exited her through her knee, her husband said.

On Wednesday, Tuckus was moved out of the intensive care unit but remained hospitalized, her husband said.

“She is doing a lot better today,” John Tuckus said. “She still has some nerve damage. There is an exit wound through her knee. ... She still is in a lot of pain.”

Following the incident, John Tuckus, who has worked with private electrical repair companies, took a volt meter out of his vehicle and tested the pole. The meter registered 120 volts of electricity coming out of the pole, he said.

The park was closed Tuesday while repairs were being made to the light pole. Other poles were tested to determine if they needed to be repaired, Monroe County government spokeswoman Kristen Livengood said.

The county hired the private electric repair company Wire Nuts Electric to fix the pole and check other light poles, Livengood said. There were no other light poles not working properly and needing repair. The original contractor the county hired Charley Toppino & Sons, Inc. to install the light poles, and the electrical subcontractor was Pedro Falcon Electrical Contractors, Inc., Livengood said.

“The other poles were checked with no issues found,” Livengood said. “The one pole has been fixed, and the park is fully open. ... They (the poles) were done at the same time as the bathroom installations. We did the opening in June 2023 so not too long before that it (the project) was completed.”