What could have been an unfortunate crash turned into a disaster in an instant.
This is one story just as charged with tragedy as it is with irony. In the end, a 25-year-old Oregonian accidentally electrocuted himself to death. But in the act he taught many drivers an important lesson and earned a “Darwin Award” for his troubles.
The year was 2001 and a 25-year-old named Ismael was driving through Hillsboro, Oregon. He lost control of his Toyota truck, hit a mailbox, and bounced into a utility pole. He managed to strike the pole with so much force that he knocked down the high-voltage power lines.
Here’s where things get interesting: Ismael had flipped his truck onto its side. The crash had also left the vehicle wrapped in high voltage power lines. The driver and his passenger both got free. Then Ismael made a deadly decision. He returned to his truck, got out a pair of metal pruning sheers, and tried to cut his truck free of the live cables.
What was Ismael thinking? Obviously not that power lines are extremely dangerous. Or that metal pruning sheers are highly conductive. Even more intriguing is the fact that his truck was rolled over. Did he honestly think he was going to cut the truck free and somehow right it to be on his merry way? Tragically, we’ll never know.
Police found Ismael face down on the power lines, the metal shears still in his hand. He’d cut into the cable and been hit by all 7,500 volts it carried. That much power instantly traveled to the ground–through his body–and stopped his heart.
What about Ismael’s passenger? They survived. And when police arrived, they had more than their trauma to deal with: Authorities arrested the passenger for an outstanding (and unrelated) warrant.
High-voltage electricity is not to be trifled with. Since Ismael’s untimely death electric cars–with their high-voltage batteries and charging systems–have become commonplace. So it’s important that DIY mechanics learn from Ismael’s mistake and leave electrical work to trained professionals.
