TAMPA — Early one day last July, Gregory Patterson pedaled his bicycle along the Courtney Campbell Causeway Trail as a lethal, downed power line dangled dangerously in his path.

The 47-year-old officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and father of two young girls came into contact with the energized wire near Whiskey Joe's restaurant and bar about 6:40 a.m., receiving a fatal jolt of electricity, authorities said at the time.

Now, Patterson's ex-wife, who is the executor of his estate, is suing Tampa Electric Co., saying the utility's negligence resulted in Patterson's death.

Filed Feb. 16 in Hillsborough County by Heather Hunter, the suit alleges Tampa Electric should have known that the power line had fallen from pole No. 168040, presenting a danger to people using the paved recreational trail.

The complaint notes that strong storms rolled through the area on July 12, the night before Patterson was killed. It also states Tampa Electric received reports of darkened streetlights along the causeway and a partial power outage at Whiskey Joe's that night, details that Tampa Electric confirmed to the Tampa Bay Times after Patterson's death.

A passer-by found Patterson lying on the trail, his foot still clipped into one of the pedals of his high-performance Blue road bike. He was still entangled in the live metal power line, so Tampa Fire Rescue crews had to wait for Tampa Electric to turn off the power before they could treat Patterson.

When rescue workers were able to approach Patterson, he was dead, police said.

Patterson left two daughters, Kaitlyn, 14, and Hunter, 12. The suit seeks a jury trial and financial damages for loss of "support services, parental companionship, instruction and guidance and mental pain and suffering." The complaint also names as a defendant Emera Inc., a Canadian company that purchased Tampa Electric last year.

"The family feels like this trail was left totally unprotected," said Bennie Lazzara Jr., an attorney with the Tampa firm Wilkes and McHugh. "This was a summer storm, not something that's foreign to an electric company operating in Hillsborough County, and they chose to put those wires above ground in a very dangerous spot.

"You can expect lots of people getting exercise to be out there. They received notices about outages in the area. We don't think (Tampa Electric's) response was appropriate under these circumstances."

Utility spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

The day of Patterson's death, Jacobs told the Times that crews had been scrambling to restore power to about 14,000 customers, so it was possible the fallen line, which carries 7,620 volts, was down for 10 hours and that workers simply didn't get to it in time.

Contact Tony Marrero at tmarrero@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3374. Follow @tmarrerotimes.