**** - see below - suspect was identified the next day - ****

"He traversed the fence into the compound, with tools, and it appeared he was trying to steal copper wire, which we know is common because it is worth so much money," said Windsor police Staff Sgt. Pat Keane.

"It's quite clearly a high-risk activity and we've always wondered why we haven't had anybody that's been hurt before this. We knew it was a matter of time before somebody would be injured and, because of the nature of what they're doing, the consequences are grave."

The victim survived the initial jolt, which occurred at 9:14 p.m. and caused a four-minute power outage in the area. He died later in hospital. His name and age are being withheld pending family notification.

The outage, which affected homes between Walker Road and Dougall Avenue and Assumption Street and Memorial Drive, occurred when a "high voltage transformer and associated 27,000 volt bus (a heavy conductor) tripped out of service," says Enwin in a news release.

A Hydro One worker -- who also works as a volunteer firefighter -- was dispatched to the scene to investigate the source of the outage. He found the still-breathing victim beneath the transformer and phoned 911.

Police converged on the scene and scoured the area for other suspects. Their investigation is ongoing.

Wire theft has spiked in recent years along with an increase in the price of base metals like copper, said Hydro One spokeswoman Laura Cooke.

"Thieves are stealing the copper and then reselling it," she said. "Sometimes we see a spike in copper theft activity as the price for base metals increases."

"This is extremely dangerous activity that can result in fatalities," she said.

******************************* Second news story about this Darwin winner *******************************

Police have identifed man who was electrocutred while allegedly trying to steal copper from a Hydro One transformer station. Police said Monday that Michael Mawhinney, 38, died Saturday night after trying to steal copper from the hydro station at Walker and Grand Marais roads.

Mawhinney was electrocuted after climbing the barbed wire fence of the transformer station, police said. He died in hospital following the jolt, which happened at 9:14 p.m. and caused a four-minute power outage in the area. A Hydro One worker investigating the outage called 911 after finding Mawhinney underneath the transformer.

Staff Sgt. Ed McNorton said police are increasingly seeing people take big risks to get copper and other metals as they become more valuable, whether it’s stealing from someone’s garbage, climbing into a transformer station or taking the wire off towering power lines.

“You never really know what’s live and not live,” he said. “When you start dealing with electricity, you’re just asking for trouble.”

Submitted on 02/17/2009

Submitted by: Les Pruden
Reference: Windsor Star February 10, 2009

Copyright © 2009 DarwinAwards.com

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
I believe this is a repeat of http://www.darwinawards.com/slush/new/pending20090209-044727.html but as it provides much more detail I think it's appropriate for Darwin to see. Thanks, Les.

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
What Bruce said.

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