Electrocuted man found hanging from electrical pole

[oldtoothlessbassmaster]

Sources told Local 4 the 34-year-old man was trying to steal copper from inside a transformer on the pole when he came in contact with a live wire and was electrocuted. The shock sent his body back from the ladders he was standing on and he was left hanging.



full article and video report at link

Electrocuted man found hanging from electrical pole on Detroit's west side | news - Home

[chrisc]

well thats pretty dumb.there is more than 50 in copper i know because last year i was picking them up in connecticut for a contractor environmental company.After last october nasty little storm .people were stealing them as they were wrapped in safety container as there is pcb's in most of them ..I know were there is 1/4 mile of main power wire it solid copper but i have a family and don't want to risk it as it 3" thick and like my freedom.It lost in was branches and tosed over enbackment and we were moving trees and tossing them down and i found it i left it ..I'm honest person "used to not be" any way i learned to be honest so i called power company they said "was it off pole" i said never mind it came down in storm they really said there insurance already paid them but its still our property ,i told them were it was there yet to find it but i can find it lol but there to lazy to go down embankment ...

[asandahl]

If that copper wire isnt on their property and is off the pole, I think it would now be the land owners property now. Not 100% sure about that though. That would be a nice pay day if you could get ahold of it!!!!

[chrisc]

that maybe grey area it would be few grand .my friends business wire fell down and got cut they had torn from pole, he got 4-5 grand for it stripped but the coating is so thick it pia to remove .But again im worried about taking it to obvious and been ton of thefts around here and not wanting to jail i leave it , and its not mine ....

[BRASSCATCHER]

It doesn't matter where it is. It is their property. If its on your land and want it gone then make a stink about it and have them remove it but I wouldn't go get it and scrap it.

[Mick]

Here's a link to a thread when I got one of the old style. As you can tell, I didn't know what it was when I got it. Then we were discussing this very thing:

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/scrap...8-help-id.html

I can see why the thieves would want them but risking your life is a little much.

[chrisc]

It doesn't matter where it is. It is their property. If its on your land and want it gone then make a stink about it and have them remove it but I wouldn't go get it and scrap it.

i did my part told them i wont touch it i see ton of money on it but its called not mine and on the ticket to scrap yard says "the product im selling is mine and have the right to possess and sell" something like that so i leave it .ok in 20 years i may lol i dont think anybody will find it .now if power company would give finders fee i would be more than happy to drag out

[chrisc]

Here's a link to a thread when I got one of the old style. As you can tell, I didn't know what it was when I got it. Then we were discussing this very thing:

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/scrap...8-help-id.html

I can see why the thieves would want them but risking your life is a little much.

pcb's are nasty why there a hazmat required license to transport them .now there made with veggie oil ...

[volvoscrapper]

If that copper wire isnt on their property and is off the pole, I think it would now be the land owners property now. Not 100% sure about that though. That would be a nice pay day if you could get ahold of it!!!!

Brasscatcher is correct. It's the same thing as if your car spins off the highway and winds up in my swimming pool. It's still your car...get it out of my pool!

[RustyDollars]

It doesn't matter where it is. It is their property. If its on your land and want it gone then make a stink about it and have them remove it but I wouldn't go get it and scrap it.

This is correct. I will also add that if you were to look back on most land titles there is probably an easement granted to utility companies. The easement gives them legal permission to have their equipment and even their personal on the stated property.

[Scrap man]

I'm surprised no one has said anything about their "definition" of scrappers. About 45 seconds in, the reporter says "It's called ladder splicing, an age old trick used by scrappers, people who steal scrap metal and sell it for cash." Last time I checked, that's called a thief. A thief is a thief, no matter what it is they're stealing. Then, what really makes me mad is that she keeps referring to the guy as a scrapper. That's an insult to legitimate scrappers everywhere. Real scrappers don't steal metal that is clearly off limits.

[hobo finds]

Other scrappers came and took the ladders! LOL The guy was dumb and now he is dead. People who steal, for easy money get caught in the end!

[JohnC4X4]

I am sorry,
I am sure i will be jumped on for not being sensitive
BUT
I love Happy endings
It seems there is one of those stories in the news at least once a month of some IDIOT Thief that cuts the wrong copper wire and fry's Himself

I always bust out laughing

[ResourcefulRecycling]

Karma! One more bad "scrapper" gone!

[ggariepy]

I'm not going to make excuses for a criminal, but I'd like to point something out.

This happened probably within 10 miles of my house in a straight line.

You don't want to even know the sort of desperate, low down and dirty poverty there is in that place. There are people in that neighborhood squatting in houses not fit for rats to live in, using a bucket for a toilet and burning furniture for heat in the winter.

Yeah, that guy was a criminal and now he's dead, but there is no capital punishment in Michigan unless it's a federal case, and no capital punishment for theft. He deserved jail and to have to make restitution for his crime, not to lose his life.

We've seen this sort of thing before on SMF and I've come down on the thieves, and I would be the first to throw this guy in jail for what he'd done, but he lost his life.

It's really sad.

--Geoff

[EcoSafe]

just natural selection clensing the gene pool !

[hobo finds]

I'm not going to make excuses for a criminal, but I'd like to point something out.

This happened probably within 10 miles of my house in a straight line.

You don't want to even know the sort of desperate, low down and dirty poverty there is in that place. There are people in that neighborhood squatting in houses not fit for rats to live in, using a bucket for a toilet and burning furniture for heat in the winter.

Yeah, that guy was a criminal and now he's dead, but there is no capital punishment in Michigan unless it's a federal case, and no capital punishment for theft. He deserved jail and to have to make restitution for his crime, not to lose his life.

We've seen this sort of thing before on SMF and I've come down on the thieves, and I would be the first to throw this guy in jail for what he'd done, but he lost his life.

It's really sad.

--Geoff

Your are right, he should have gone to jail instead of died. But the "thief" could have found a less risky wat to get some quick cash!

[hobo finds]

And it is sad.