Hildale man dies after climbing fence with high voltage wires

Stock image for illustrative purposes | Photo by Lakeview_Images/Pixabay, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A 19-year-old man with severe autism died Saturday after climbing a fence around a power substation yard in Hildale.

Hildale and Colorado City emergency services responded to a report of an electrocution around 2:25 p.m., according to a press release issued by Chief Kevin Barlow of the Hildale-Colorado City Fire Department. When emergency services arrived, they found that the man had managed to scale the fence of the power substation yard.

He climbed on top of a large transformer box and made contact with high voltage wires and was instantly electrocuted,” the press release reads.

The man had severe autism and was “known to have no fear of heights or danger,” according to the press release. He had previously scaled tall fences, climbed onto roofs and climbed tall trees.

His mother was with him Saturday but stopped at a nearby business for a short period of time. When she returned, he was no longer in her vehicle. She then called for assistance and soon found her son at the substation yard.

A power company lineman who was on scene within minutes opened the locked gates and began to shut down the electricity. Rescue crews were forced to wait until all lines were de-energized and confirmed to be grounded for safety purposes. Fire department crews slid the man’s body down a ladder ramp after police conducted their investigation.

Electricity was shut off for two hours for area residents while authorities conducted their investigation. Colorado City Marshal’s Office, Hildale-Colorado City Fire Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington County Medical Examiner’s Office all responded to the scene.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews | @markeekaenews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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10 Comments

  • comments August 5, 2018 at 8:08 pm

    This kind of stuff seems to happen often up there. It seems like a rather lawless place, doesn’t it? If it’s not small children getting in serious wrecks with UTVs then it’s something else. Always seems to be something. Usually these high voltage stations are quite secure. A tall barbed wire-topped fence at least, but maybe razor wire. Hmm

    • Brian August 6, 2018 at 2:07 pm

      I don’t think so. I think your preconceived notions just cause you to remember them more, filing them under “See, I knew I was right about those people” in your mind.

      Yeah, nowhere else on earth or even southern Utah has UTV accidents and accidental deaths…

      • comments August 6, 2018 at 4:12 pm

        I will admit I am biased against them. It’s the whole thing will mormon-based child rape cults and child raping polygamy prophets and all their brainwashed Joseph Smith worshiping cult enablers up there. I guess you could tell me to “get over it”, but I can’t seem to. It’s just too nightmarish the whole thing. I guess my inability to just forget about them and let them go about their cultish child molesting ways unimpeded makes me an odd duck, huh? I figure you paying your 10% to utah’s big daddy cult makes you an enabler of the FLDS in one way or another. Because LDS is the biggest cult/polygamy enabler of them all. Ofc, you should already know all this, Brother Brian. cheers 😉

      • Carpe Diem August 7, 2018 at 5:58 am

        Apparently Brian hasn’t heard that a dozen of them or so are still in prison in Texas? That their 100 million pedo ranch in Texas complete with Temple, was confiscated by the State and sits rotting in the Texas sun? Or how about fumarase deficiency, which is carried by lots of them out there, and when contracted by the child, means it is born with a very small brain causing severe retardation and early death? Uh oh, I could go on. But you should google the genetic disease. Yeah, the inbreeding over generations has caused them to have more of this than “anywhere else on earth”… And if you check the images, you wont forget. Be warned.

        • comments August 7, 2018 at 5:46 pm

          Here’s a good article about the inbreeding up there and about this fumarase disease.

          ” In wild deer and sage grouse, as in Mormon cults, polygyny is associated with high levels of inbreeding, because it shrinks the number of males contributing to the gene pool”

          http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170726-the-polygamous-town-facing-genetic-disaster?ocid=fbert

          • Carpe Diem August 7, 2018 at 8:23 pm

            Yeah- that’s it. Now the FLDS are a petri dish for scientists to study genetic diseases. WOW – if only JS knew.

          • Carpe Diem August 7, 2018 at 8:36 pm

            Yeah- that’s it. Now the FLDS are a petri dish for scientists to study genetic diseases. WOW – if only JS knew…

  • ladybugavenger August 5, 2018 at 8:15 pm

    I was reading this and I’m like ok, an 18 yr old with severe autism. He didnt know any better. Then I get to the part where the mom left him in a car while she went into a business. That’s when I got a little irritated with the mon. Should a severely autistic person be left alone in a car?

  • PlanetU August 5, 2018 at 10:11 pm

    What is a short period of time…….

    • Carpe Diem August 7, 2018 at 8:16 pm

      Since JS invented COJCOLDS to today.

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