By ANTHONY LONETREE, Star Tribune

Last update: October 23, 2009 - 4:42 PM

A man who was electrocuted this morning in a St. Paul manhole may have entered the hole to strip out and sell copper cable, a police spokesman said Friday.

The victim, who worked for a company that contracts with a telecommunications firm, "was not doing sanctioned or authorized work" when he entered the tunnel with a saw, said Sgt. Paul Schnell, citing a preliminary investigation.

"It's believed that he came into contact with high-voltage power lines with that saw," Schnell said.

At 9:05 a.m., paramedics responded to a report of a man trapped in a manhole on Virginia Street just south of University Avenue. Instead, they arrived to find smoke, and then learned that the man had been killed, fire marshal Steve Zaccard said.

The victim was with another man at the scene, and a work truck was nearby blocking the southbound lane on Virginia Street. The second man was "obviously distraught," Schnell said, and investigators were trying to determine what he knew of the victim's activities. "We don't know how much the man who was with [the victim] was told," he said.

Police haven't disclosed the victim's name.

The company for which he worked has indicated it did not have work scheduled in the area, Schnell said.

Mary Sandok, an Xcel Energy spokeswoman, said that the man struck a 13,500-volt distribution line, one of several that power the state Capitol, St. Paul College and St. Joseph's and United hospitals. Momentary outages were reported at the college and at the hospitals, which automatically switch over to other service lines, she added.

She did not know how long power was out at the Capitol.

Zaccard said that the body was recovered about 11:15 a.m. after Xcel confirmed that power to the line was off. The victim was found in a confined space about eight feet deep, and the body was turned over to the Ramsey County medical examiner's office, he added.

Schnell said that it appeared the incident occurred just after the two men arrived, "and just after he entered the hole."

Asked what led authorities to believe the victim might have been there to strip out copper, Schnell said: "That appeared to be one of the more relevant working theories, in that he had a saw, and we know this has been a growing occurrence. People may be knowledgeable about old cable, and may try to pull old cable for the purpose of selling it."

The suspect likely knew copper was there, Schnell added, "but was unaware of the proximity of himself to high-voltage power lines."

ANTHONY LONETREE • 612-673-4109

Submitted on 10/23/2009

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: Minneapolis StarTribune, October 23, 2009

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James said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
Darwin is collecting stories about electrocution as a result of attempted wire theft...!

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
And it has been awhile...

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