03-Mar-2010, 03:44 AM
We had a (relatively) local example in today's paper. I thought I'd seen it in the on-line Daily Telegraph, too, but couldn't find the story.
Out towards the Pacific Coast in Gray's Harbor County (not too far from Forks where the Vampire teen novels are set), somone was driving home after an evening at the tavern. He lost control of his car, slid into a ditch and demolished a power pole.
A reminder - what look like telegraph poles here actually carry the mains power around. After he hit the pole, he called a family friend to come and extricate his vehicle from the ditch. When the friend arrived he was surprised to find the caller dead.
It turned out that, by knocking the pole down, he'd caused a live wire to end up in the ditch. Having imbibed a skinful, he decided to take a leak while waiting for his friend. He actually peed on the live wire and got zapped, since urine is electrically conductive.
The police report says "based on the path of the electrocution burns, it seems that his urination on the power line caused his death".
Frank
Out towards the Pacific Coast in Gray's Harbor County (not too far from Forks where the Vampire teen novels are set), somone was driving home after an evening at the tavern. He lost control of his car, slid into a ditch and demolished a power pole.
A reminder - what look like telegraph poles here actually carry the mains power around. After he hit the pole, he called a family friend to come and extricate his vehicle from the ditch. When the friend arrived he was surprised to find the caller dead.
It turned out that, by knocking the pole down, he'd caused a live wire to end up in the ditch. Having imbibed a skinful, he decided to take a leak while waiting for his friend. He actually peed on the live wire and got zapped, since urine is electrically conductive.
The police report says "based on the path of the electrocution burns, it seems that his urination on the power line caused his death".
Frank
Frank Damp (wife Eileen, nee Nixon)
Leyland resident 1941-1965, emigrated to the US in 1968,
retired to Anacortes, Washington State, USA in 1999.
Leyland resident 1941-1965, emigrated to the US in 1968,
retired to Anacortes, Washington State, USA in 1999.
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