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battered and bruised member
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Drunken Construction Worker Death
Possible Copper Theft Leads to Elec
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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!

Possible Copper Theft Leads to Elec

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

April 16, 2008 By NICOLE BROOKS The Courier News ST. CHARLES -- A 30-year-old man died of electrocution, authorities said, apparently while trying to remove copper wire from live electrical equipment.

The preliminary findings on the cause Robert J. Paluch's death over the weekend were issued Tuesday by the Kane County Coroner's Office. An autopsy on Paluch's body, which had to be identified through dental records, was performed Monday.

A police officer on patrol near the former Applied Composites building, 333 N. Sixth St., Sunday afternoon found the body of Paluch, of 1301 Lancaster Ave., according to the St. Charles Police Department.

The body was lying face down on top of a high voltage switch gear. Although the building is empty, it still has electrical service, Public Information Officer Paul McCurtain said.

A hacksaw and a hammer were located next to Paluch's body, and cuts were found in the switch gear's copper wiring, according to police.

McCurtain said there were more than 4,000 volts of electricity flowing through that switch gear.

There were no witnesses to Paluch's death, McCurtain said, so it's difficult to discern his intentions for certain - but he did note the tools and cuts to the copper wiring.

"The theft of copper wiring to be recycled is starting to become more common as copper becomes more valuable," he said. "However, it's very unusual to see someone trying to get copper wire attached to a switch gear."

Sun-Times News Group

Submitted on 04/16/2008

Submitted by: Katie
Reference: Naperville Sun April 16,2008

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

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Bruce said:
Neutral: For Darwin's Eyes
We get stories virtually identical to this from all around the world on almost a weekly basis thanks to the rising value of scrap copper so I consider them to be too common. However Darwin has indicated she'd like to keep collecting these so off to her it goes. Thanks for sending this in, Katie.


Chip said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
This seems to be now a leading cause of death among stupid people. Here you go, Wendy. Thanks, Katie


James said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
These gentry just NEVER learn...!


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