Slush Pile: Heroic tagger tags himself out

2007 Slush Pile

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Heroic tagger tags himself out

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

Aaron Ray Vigil, 18, must have prided himself as the machismo artist 'er tagger for getting the impossible tag. To prove his manliness, he scaled a heavily "graffiteed" 20 foot concrete wall topped with concertina razor wire with his can of spray paint to get inside a Public Service of New Mexico (PNM) electric substation in Santa Fe.

Never mind that no one other than the electrician would ever see his artwork, he was leaving his mark for all posterity to see.

Perhaps he was saluting himself when he spray painted the tag, "Our Hero" onto electrical equipment inside the walls. That was until the moisture in the spray paint arced 115,000 volts of electricity through him to ground, knocking off his shirt and one pant leg, and unfortunately burning him over 80% of his body.

The electrical outage caused by his errant artistic short knocked out the Motor Vehicles Department mainframe computer for the State of New Mexico for almost a day -- the DMV be damned.

Vigil died later after being airlifted to a Phoenix hospital.

------------------

Story from Albuquerque Journal (Subscription required)

http://www.abqjournal.com/north/564076north_news05-19-07.htm

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Tagger Dies From Electric Jolt

By Kate Willson

Journal Staff Writer

The 18-year-old who was shocked and severely burned by a jolt of 115,000 volts of electricity Wednesday as he spray-painted a graffiti tag on a power substation died Friday, according to Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief Benjie Montaño.

Aaron Ray Vigil, 18, died at a Phoenix burn center, where he was being treated for burns that covered 80 percent of his body.

His father, Ray, and an uncle and aunt had flown out from Santa Fe to be with him, Vigil's grandfather said Friday.

Aaron lived with his grandfather— also named Ray— his father, uncle and aunt at the family compound on Horizon Road off N.M. 599.

Aaron had moved from California with his father four years ago, the senior Ray Vigil said Friday. Aaron and his grandfather lived in the main house, while Aaron's father lived in an adobe studio 50 feet away.

The older Ray and his sons worked together in the shop, building furniture and other pieces of woodwork.

Aaron attended Capital High School until last year, but he was struggling with classes, his grandfather said. He said Aaron was a good kid but had made friends with the wrong crowd. He said he doesn't remember Aaron using drugs or drinking alcohol.

Hoping a change of scene would help Aaron succeed, his father took him out of Capital and enrolled him in a community college GED course, the senior Ray Vigil said.

"He was going to graduate this year," he said.

Aaron Vigil had to climb over a 15- to 20-foot concrete wall topped with razor wire— and often covered with graffiti— on Wednesday to reach the PNM substation on Camino de Los Montoyas in northwest Santa Fe. He was spray-painting the tag "our hero" on some of the power equipment when electricity arced and jolted the young man.

Police believe he might have been accompanied by two other young people, Santa Fe Police Chief Eric Johnson said Friday. Johnson said police received a tip that two teens were seen walking in the area about the time Aaron Vigil was injured.

The force of the electricity ripped Vigil's shirt from his body and disintegrated his right pantleg, Montaño said, but Vigil managed to call 911. He was airlifted first to University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, then to the Phoenix facility for treatment.

The surge from the substation set off a computer crash that paralyzed the state Motor Vehicle Department and stalled other state services through Thursday, state officials said.

Public Service Co. of New Mexico spokeswoman Susan Sponar said PNM hasn't ascertained a link between the tagging incident and computer problems.

"We really don't know what happened to them," Sponar said of state agencies.

She said the arcing that injured Aaron Vigil is an example of electrical current taking "the easiest path."

"If you get too close to something like a power line, it reduces the natural insulation of the air between you and the power source," she said. She said moisture— such as that in paint— can also provide the path that conducts electrical current.

"What really matters with this story is that a young person has lost his life under really tragic circumstances," Sponar said. "It's important to remind people that if they get near power lines or transformers, it can cause serious injury or death."

The senior Ray Vigil said he went to work on an adobe wall around a woodshop, part of the compound he started building 30 years ago, after hearing about his grandson's death about 6 a.m. Friday

"If I didn't stay busy," he began, then waved a hand in the air, his eyes filled with tears. "So I'm laying adobe."

Submitted on 05/22/2007

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: May 19, 2007: Albuquerque Journal: http://www.abqjournal.com/north/564076north_news05-19-07.htm

>> Moderator Scores <<

Shadow said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
we have this story, thanks though! :)

James said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
As Shadow said!

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2007 Slush Pile

Heroic tagger tags himself out

2007 Reader Submission Pending Acceptance

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance