Posted on Thu, May. 31, 2007 Man caught in industrial fan is killed BY TIM CHAPMAN, ERIKA BERAS AND LAUREN POND A man with a record for burglary was killed Thursday morning by the blades of an industrial fan as he tried to wriggle out of a warehouse he had apparently broken into overnight, police said.

As the intruder was squeezing past the fan to make his getaway, he managed to kick the on/off switch into the ''on'' position -- with predictable results.

''He did it to himself,'' said Napier Velazquez, a Miami police spokesman.

The warehouse at 7124 NW Second Ct. belongs to Marantha Used Clothing, which takes in used clothes, packages them in bundles and ships them to Haiti. In addition to old clothes, the building is filled with used ceiling fans, tennis rackets and battered bicycle helmets.

''He was stealing just junk,'' said Lt. Bill Schwartz of the Miami Police Department.

The man was discovered at 8:30 am. by Anicette Pacouloute, a worker at the warehouse who was opening the building. An employee for just three days, she spotted the man's legs dangling from the opening that encases the fan and called 911.

''I'm shocked. I'm distraught. I've never seen anything like this,'' she said.

The name of the victim, a man in his 40s, was not immediately released, although Schwartz called him a ''known burglar.'' He entered the warehouse by prying apart some metal bars sometime after Pacouloute closed up shop at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The fan, which caught the man around the rib cage area, ventilates the concrete building that sits amid a row of industrial structures.

One of the blades of the six-bladed fan was badly bent after the encounter.

Submitted on 05/31/2007

Submitted by: Richard Pachter
Reference: Miami Herald 5/31/07

Copyright © 2007 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
While this could just as easily be written off as an unlucky accident, I find this rather cathartic! I'll vote to keep it, though my fellow mods may beg to differ! Thanks, Richard!

Graham said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
Although this man was committing a crime at the time of his demise, it is of such monumental stupidity that it is worth considering. Thanks, Richard.

Bruce said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
He was trying to sneak out through an industrial fan vent? Why not just go out the front or back door, a window, or some other easier way? Thanks for sending this in, Richard.

Chip said:
Maybe Toss: Repeat
Thanks for sending this, Richard, but we already have a more detailed account under consideration.

Shadow said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
I say keep it! I dont see a repeat so it's definately Darwin grade stupidity!