Charles Darwin's Darwin Awards 
HOME
Darwin Awards
At-Risk Survivors
Slush Pile
2008 May Rejects
The Jihad Rabbit
Girls Sunbathing on Tracks Dismembe
Teen on the tracks
searched:Tanning Train Railroad
Sunbathing on the Tracks
Making silly bets can kill...
Hazards of Sunbathing
Two girls sunbathing on train track
Not Hit and Run, But Run and Hit
Training for a Darwin award?
Eco-Terrorism On Orcas
Dangerous Sunbathing
Near Train disaster
Sunbathers get run over by train
Update to gian leap of madness
Go play on the Freeway
Final Buffet
Man Overboard
The World's Dimmest Terrorist
Strange Behavior
Death by Wired Bras
Revere boy, 5, killed by train
Train Hits Teen Girls Sunbathing On
Kid in the cockpit
Fatal bandwidth
Death during sm sexplay
don't inflate your kids
RE: Acetylene torch
Scrap Metal Hunter Killed By Train
Man Hurts Himself Trying to Loosen
Utah Man Hunting Skunk Accidentally
what it would be like to jump from
Scrap Metal Hunter Killed By Train
Man dies after shoting self in head
Surprise! Well, not really........
Man dies after shooting self in hea
Farmer shoots self instead of skunk
Apparent copper wire thief electroc
Box Elder farmer accidentally kills
It is a pickup not a stand up truck
Fixxing up my heart
Food trip of his dreams
Lottery Ticket Kills Upstate NY Man
PVS exploration
Hang-man for real
Death after BBQ !
the little rabbit
Happy As A Hog In Mud
Two die after 3am microlight joyrid
Dumb Ramp
Microlight IQs
Men dead after 3am microlight joyri
Fatal private race
Don't flee the police
dead by gas
Man uses gun for backscratcher, sho
Cristmann mit Gas vergiftet
Aero Club shocked, confused at micr
Man dies while fleeing car accident
Horny Man Ingests Toad Venom, Croak
Bufo Toad Aphrodisiac
Germans moderators died on barbecue
Couple held over Coutroom Incident
Shocking Moment of Clarity
Toxic gases kill tv star
Almost Boared to Death
Braves Fan Falls to Deaths
Fan Sliding on Railing Falls, Dies
Spit himself to death
Man Dies in Spitting Contest
Train Surfing
Don't throw your life away
The Flying Priest
Run, Spit and Die
Aim to win the sequel
Man found dead along tracks
Decapitated Burglar
How to Total an $80 Million Airbus
gas tank cut with grinding machine
suspend yourself from a high bridge
Myanmar
Myanmar
Spit contest
Final Flight
Canadian Pierces Lover's heart in b
CT Man Accidentally Kills Himself
Man dies in spitting contest
Surfer takes train
A spit of fame
Taser Duel
Taser Duel
Suicide by wood chipper fails
Grilled Wieners
NYS WIN $2000.00 a WEEK for LIFE
Another railing kill!
Spitting to death
Two tracks, two trains.
cheap cialis
cialis
viagra
Wife guilty in husband's death duri
Father Cuts Off His Genetic Line
There's nothing like a goat
Balcony Climber Goes for Fatal Swim
How to relieve an itch
iPod listener killed by train
Man dies in spitting contest plunge
Man Dies in Spitting Contest Mishap
Wreck near Greensboro kills three
Man dies spitting from balcony
Cigarette lighter + gasoline tanker
man dies in spitting competition
Spti to Death
headphones and helicopters
Man uses gun to scratch back; shoot
Doting Dad Hit By Train
Sex Game Goes Awry
Spit of death
Spit till you drop
Ipod Ignorance
Brains: Don't Leave Home W/o Them
Ute arsonist sets fire to himself
Whaat? I Looked Both Ways.
Merced Man loses game of Russian ro
Man uses gun for backscratcher
the animal attack that wasn't
Human Trebucet Ammunition
Eartha Kitt
Fisherman Electrocuted
Dude... Where's my IPOD
Balcony Affairs
Cops under fire for giving cigarett
Man killed
Man uses gun to scratch back
Man uses gun to scratch back
Tazed While On Duty
helicopter kills pedestrian
Gravity still applies to us all.
Powerful fishing
Overhead Train Wires
Man dies in spitting competition
Spitting contest
Motorcyclist without helmet dies in
Man dies in spitting contest plunge
A gun is not a good back scratcher
Nail gun suicide gets arrested
Man uses gun as backscratcher
Deadly spit contest
smoking can kill - the last smoke
Lethal jump during a spit contest
who spits more distant?
SPIT CONTEST
gun for back scratcher
Man uses gun for backscratcher, sho
A gun is not a backscratcher
Man struck by train
Man Struck By Train
You pick it
Tombstoning into Shallow Water
Pier jumper 'may not walk again'
Aussie straps in beer, not child
The Flying Prist is Bye Bye
The Last Casualty of the Civil War
Kerosene-soaked man catches fire af
Robert - Honorary Mention
Dirt bike collision kills area teen
Le concours de crachat finit (mal)
Kerosene-soaked man dies after lig
Motorcycle Chicken
Kerosene and smoking
Kerosene-soaked man dies after lig
Kero-soaked Japanese smoker dies in
Japanese Lighter
Train: 1, TeenagersL 0
Ends the sarch for the Braz. Priest
A dog day afternoon
Search teams stop search for priest
Self submission for a near miss
Reckless Driving
Idiot Decoration
IT's a Fair Cop
Fan dies after falling from train
The ELECTRIC POOL BBQ picture
'You couldn't stop Adam'
Robber gets locked up in 7-Eleven!
Pant Constrictor
Darwin by Proxy
Man dies of injuries in accident
Man killed after bitten by Shar-Pei
Hold Your Wee For A Wii
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Man hit by train was on cell phone
Handcuffed Inmate hurt in courtroom
man showing off new gun shoots self
Fatal schoolbus crash shuts down Hw
Man talking on cellphone killed by
twist of fate
Wheelie-Bird
Man dies cutting RR wire
Priest Carli
bank ge money
Excuse, I was Crossing the Freeway
He tries to get $360 Billion
Officer dies after accidental shoot
Burglary Suspect Trapped Over Resta
Gas Thief
Off to heaven
The Brazilian balloon priest
Teen use lighter to look in gastank
Boom, Future award winner.
Idiot crashes father's Ferrari
Motoring Moron
Civil War Cannonball
Woman is run over and killed by her
Woman is run over and killed by her
Woman is hit by her own car
Guy plays chicken with train; loses
Don't forget the hand brake!
Woman Killed by Own Car
None
God-chair Carli
Gas thieves use cigarette lighter a
walking on the wrong track
Eighth-floor leap kills man
Viaduct jumper 'couldn't be stopped
The South will Rise Again?
Civil War Cannonball Kills Relic Co
BIC checks fuel level
Civil War Cannonball Kills Relic Co
Jethro and a metal detector?
I got gas!
More on the priest and baloon
Clear Creek off-roader paradise los
Man swallows drug filled condoms.
Was it cannonball run?
Drug addict crashes car
A Fool's Prayer Ends Progeny
Student Driver
SHocking Ensemble of Intelligence
Our Dry Ice Bomb
Truck falls, claims life of area ma
Boat
Older Rejects 
 
~ Random Story ~
Email Alert!
NEW! Gift Shop
Rules  Search
Contact Darwin
Submit a Story
Philosophy Forum
Home

  

Darwin Awards
2008 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Eco-Terrorism On Orcas

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

http://www.islandguardian.com/archives/00001878.html

03/17/2008: "Eco-Terrorism On Orcas"

”I did it to punish the rich white people of Orcas Island and make them pay for the death of the whales and the depletion of the rain forests” -Mondragon

Gabriel Thomas Mondragon, 29 years old, who recently arrived from New Mexico, explained to Sheriff’s Deputies that in an attempt to make the people on Orcas “suffer just like the whales and trees”, he attempted to use a tree limbing saw -on a metal pole- to cut through a 69,000 volt power line.

According to the sheriff’s report, the man, identified as Gabriel Mondragon, also stated he wanted to protest “the death of Luna the whale and the destruction of the rain forest.”

Being well informed on the power of high voltage power lines, Mondragon cleverly put on several pair of latex dish washing gloves to isolate him from electrocution, and proceeded to touch saw to power line.

Mondragon was found laying on his back some distance from the line, his pants had been on fire, where they had burned away from his hips down. His gloves had partially melted, and he had “first, second and third degree burns’ on various parts of his body. He was, in short, lucky to be alive. He now has some medical and legal problems to deal with, including some interest in his actions by the FBI.

An OPALCO lineman who responded to the outage was on site at the substation within twenty minutes and called the sheriff’s office for an aid car. The sheriff’s office and fire department arrived with aid within ten minutes.

The substation is surrounded by a barbwire topped fence, so Mondragon first tried to reach the power line by standing on a ladder. When that failed to get him close enough to be electrocuted, he went over the fence, and was then was able to reach a power line.

Thousands of people on parts of Orcas and Shaw only experienced a temporary loss of electrical power as a result Mondragon’s action, while Mondragon was flow off to Harborview Hospital in Seattle via AirLift Northwest, for treatment of what are being called serious injuries..

The incident has been reported to the FBI, and Sheriff Bill Cumming said County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord will determine what, if any, charges may be pending, but at the least he may be charged with trespass. Gaylord said he would review the on-scene reports prior to making a determination of what appropriate charges may be.

OPALCO General Manager Randy Cornelius said he was required to notify the FBI of the incident, but that he had no information on any of the specifics of the case.

Cumming said because the crime involved a utility, the FBI has jurisdiction to enter the case. Given Mondragon’s statements, it seems likely he may also face additional charges related to “eco-terrorism”. The FBI defines eco-terrorism as “acts of violence in protest of harm to animals or to the environment, ” and it “is the United States' No.1 terrorism threat from inside its own borders.”

The County Council met this morning for their normal Monday morning work session, and Councilman Bob Myhr, who also is a siting board member of OPALCO, briefed the Council on the incident. Chairman Howard Rosenfeld said he was sure the OPALCO facilities are “not hardened against this type of thing, and never will be; so we need to stop alienating our own people.”

“This tragic incident underlines the importance of public education about the dangers of power lines and electrical safety, “ stated OPALCO General Manager, Randy Cornelius. “I’m proud of how quickly and efficiently our linemen and emergency services responded; I’m grateful for the professionalism of the law enforcement and fire service personnel who responded and took control of the scene—and am thankful that no lives were lost. Our thoughts are with the family of the young man that was injured.”

Power was restored to most of the island by 11:30 p.m. Some areas were without power until noon Sunday.

OPALCO is a member-owned cooperative electrical utility serving more than 10,000 islanders in San Juan County. OPALCO provides mostly renewable electricity that is 97% greenhouse-gas free and is predominately generated by hydro-electric plants.

Submitted on 05/29/2008

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: The Island Guardian 3/17/08

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
Thanks, but we already received this a few times back when it happened. Please be sure to search the archives prior to submitting.


Shadow said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
I will take Bruces word that this is a repeat


The Darwin Awards Gift Shop

The Darwin Awards Condom

Keep yourself out of the gene pool!
A condom in a matchbook, useful for emergency contraception, bachelor parties, frat parties, and important rites of passage. LOADED inside and out with funny quotes and stories. Everyone loves this item!
Friends don't let friends reproduce!
$13 for Pack of 4

 

 

Slush Pile
Slush Pile Rejects

HomeRulesFAQsAwardsSlushSite Map
DarwinAward | HonorableMention | PersonalAccount | UrbanLegend