Edgewater Teen Dylan Luiza Optimistic for Full Recovery After Run-in With Downed Power Lines

It’s been a week since Edgewater teen Dylan Luiza accidentally ran into an active 13,000 volts of electricity on South River Clubhouse Road. Luiza ran into live wires from lines and a downed power pole in the aftermath of the Super Derecho that hit our area last Friday night.

Edgewater teen Dylan Luiza is at home recovering from third degree burns after he ran into downed power lines after last Friday’s storm. Picture taken by South River Source photographer Hunter Messineo.

Dylan said that despite the third degree burns he has on his legs and feet, he is feeling much better and hopes for a full recovery.

“I was pretty lucky,” said Dylan. “The doctors told me not many people survive something like this.”

Dylan was at a friend’s house on June 30 when he and three others decided to go for a walk around the farm to cool off. It was dark outside. As the group headed back,  they started to race each other. Dylan set out first and ran directly into the waist-high lines.

Dylan said he remembers running into the wires and that he saw a spark fly from one and the other turn a bright red. Dylan flew backwards and was unconscious for 10-20 seconds. When he came to, he did not have any feeling in his right arm or leg.

“When I gained consciousness I didn’t even feel like I had been knocked out by power lines,” said Dylan. “It was more like a football player had hit me.”

Dylan was able to walk back to the car and called his dad to tell him what had happened. “My dad heard power line and immediately took me to the hospital. Dylan spent two nights at the Bayview Burn Center at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

Since the accident, Dylan spends his days sleeping, watching television and visiting with friends and family. His mother Karen Luiza helps change his dressings twice a day.

Dylan goes back to the doctor on July 19. Currently he has no feeling in his right pinkie toe and still has intense pain from the burns on his legs. He is not sure if he will require physical therapy.

Dylan is a sophmore at McDaniel College where he plays lacrosse and a graduate of South River High where he played attack for the Seahawks.

“I’m crossing my fingers that I can play lacrosse in the fall,” he said.

Dylan hopes to get back to his job as a lifeguard at Harbor Hills Yacht Club in Davidsonville as soon as possible. “It all depends on when the wounds heal,” Dylan said.

Dylan said he and his sister Maddie often joked about getting tattoos. After the incident, Maddie suggested Dylan get a power line design.

“I’m not going to do that,” laughed Dylan.

Dylan said the hardest part, other than the pain, is not being able to go out with his friends. As for advice on walking in fields in the dark after a storm Dylan said, “don’t do it.”

Dylan’s hopes are high and he’s excited to get back to work and school. “I have a new outlook on life. “I was fortunate. God’s got a purpose for me.”

See ABC2 interview of Luiza here.