Man dies, woman injured, while trying to steal copper tubing, police say

[Haole Girl]

Source: DailyNews.com

Man dies, woman injured, while trying to steal copper tubing, police say

SOUTH GATE — A man died and a woman was critically burned Saturday, apparently while trying to steal copper wire from an electrical vault that exploded in South Gate, and their two young children, who were at the scene, were placed in protective custody, police said.

The explosion was reported at 4:14 p.m. near 3064 Firestone Blvd., according to the South Gate Police Department.

Arriving officers found two people next to a burning electrical vault, police said.

The man died at the scene and the woman was taken to St. Francis Medical Center with critical burns. She was later transferred to the Grossman Burn Center.


Read more: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_16420611?source=rss

[Up Quark]

1. Very sorry for the 2 young children.

sigh

[Iggo]

22. I'm sorry for all of them...parents, too.

This is horrible.

[MrSlayer]

2. This happens a lot.

Amateurs going around equipment they have no idea how to navigate. Just dumb.

[Edweird]

14. From what I gather this was distribution voltage - here in South FL that's 13.2kv or 25kv.

In other words, it's no joke. I'm an overhead lineman but I know vaults are death traps.

[MrSlayer]

19. Yep, 13.2 takes no prisoners.

The best thing that can be said is that it's over quick. I'm an inside wireman, I deal with high voltage routinely.

[Codeine]

3. Tweakers are always trying that shit around here. nt

[pattmarty]

5. It ain't just dopers "Codeine". There are a fuck of a lot more poor and..........

........jobless people doing this than just meth freaks.

[Codeine]

7. Around here it's mostly tweakers, and they've been doing it for years.

The town I work in (Fontana, CA) is quite infamous for the number of speed freaks infesting the place.

[pattmarty]

10. I live in rural Ark so I know a little about the meth problem. It's mainly.....

..........because you're poor, and a lot of poor people in Mo and Ar do (and cook) meth. A lot down here also grow pot. It's the chicken and the egg thing, do you "scrap" because you do speed or because you're poor? I pick the poor.

[Javaman]

25. Have you seen that new independent movie, "Winter Bones"? nt

It's set in that area and deals with exactly you are talking about.

[PlanetBev]

12. Tell me about it, Codeine

I'm a Thousand Oaks based commercial property manager and deal with this shit all the time. I manage properties all over the country, but they especially love to steal the backflow devices in the Inland Empire. Brass statues are popular too.

Last year they broke into the electric room in Agoura Hills and stole all the breakers, wiring, everthing. They were definately pros. However, the guy from Southern California Edision told me that it's not uncommon to arive on the scene and stumble upon a body. Most of the guys that do this are not professionals.

[madokie]

16. First thought I had too

tweakers. There were a couple who died near here a couple years ago doing basically the same thing. Stupid people do stupid things I guess

[pattmarty]

4. This is a sign of these economic times. Aluminum, copper and other...........

..........metals are sold for scrap basically for next to nothing compared to the danger and possible criminal charges that can occur. Back during the 80's (Reagan recession) a neighbor and I were "scrapping" (not stealing) to help make ends meet. I'll tell ya, it's a shitty way to make a (small) buck.

[Haole Girl]

6. Agreed

People are getting desperate. :-(

[AlphaCentauri]

26. in the Reagan years

cardboard was a good thing to recycle and get a couple of bucks

[ProudDad]

8. After the water runs out here in Southern Arizona

because the Colorado River has finished drying out...

The MacMansions in the foothills will empty...

And we'll be able to get all the copper we'll need for the Post-Carbon world...!

[HysteryDiagnosis]

9. This could help prevent this sort of accident....

Or people could become as skilled as this "lay electrician".

[TheDebbieDee]

11. In May, in Harry S Truman's hometown of Independence, MO......

Some sorry-assed lowlifes stranded an elderly wheel-chair bound couple in their home when they stole the steel wheel-chair ramp anchored at the couple's front door.

[billlll]

17. poverty root cause of this

Drug use half-due to misery of poverty

Hunger of poverty a large cause IMO

Joblessness of the insane ...thus poverty...

All due to GOP

Progressive economies have zero poverty, thus near-zero crime...Finland,a somewhat progressive economy, rated #1 in the world in Quality of Life.

[Edweird]

15. That guy on the bottom is.... wow... just wow.

Here's a professional (me).... (That's south side of downtown Miami in the background)

[Up Quark]

18. That's not a real picture, it's a bad attempt at photoshop

There's nothing holding the end of that egg insulator and the wires don't even go through the right places.
:D

[Edweird]

23. It's a compression type insulator for guy wires.

They are old school and we don't use them anymore, but the wires are in the correct holes. If you look close you can see the wire wrap on the backside of it where it attaches to the cross arm. It's a totally wrong application, but then EVERYTHING about this picture is wrong. It looks real to me - real dumb.

[Up Quark]

27. Yeah, I still have a box of those out in my shed

we used them all the time putting up ham antennas 40 years ago. I just couldn't figure out what was holding up the end on the right, if it's just the stiffness of that wire going left, that's some tough stuff! I appreciate the joke, just that it could have been done a lot better. :-)

(I'm pretty sure we called them 'egg' insulators)...their advantage of course is that if they crumble, the wires stay tied together)

(duh)? :D

[Blue_Tires]

21. great shot!

[mitchum]

13. Occupational hazard

[mackerel]

20. It's tweakers here doing that but I feel for the kids.

[Evasporque]

24. Darwin Award nominee? nt