Two adults and a teenager were electrocuted after a tree and power line fell on a truck outside a home in Oregon during a powerful winter storm on Wednesday, while a toddler held by one of the victims miraculously survived.
Emergency crews responded to reports of a person on fire in the street at the intersection of Northeast 122 and Northeast Siskiyou in the Russell neighborhood, a Portland suburb, around 11:45 a.m., according to KPTV.
A tree branch had broken and dragged a live wire into the red Ford Expedition below, electrifying the truck.
The occupants of the vehicle, unaware of the danger, went out onto the road, causing a fatal electric shock.
“The vehicle was electrified, so when they hit the ground and the vehicle, the electrical current went through them and the end result is that we have three people deceased,” Rick Graves of Portland Fire and Rescue told the outlet.
Firefighters found the three people dead about 35 feet from the car.
The boy’s father, identified as Nash, was holding the child when he was electrocuted, according to KGW.
Two adults and a teenager were electrocuted after a tree and power line fell on a truck outside a home in Oregon during a powerful winter storm Wednesday. KPTV A downed wire lies on top of a parked car after a tree branch knocked it down Wednesday morning. KPTV
The 2-year-old boy was taken to a hospital for evaluation and is in good condition.
The boy’s mother, a 21-year-old who was six months pregnant, was killed along with his teenage brother, identified as 15-year-old Ta’Ron Briggs, a 10th grade student at Milwaukie High School.
His heartbroken father said he and his wife heard a “boom” and saw the car was on fire.
“It just hurt. Watching my kids die… I can’t do anything about it,” Randy Briggs, father of the two brothers, told KGW. “I have six children. I lost two of them in one day.”
The power company was called and de-energized the cable after the incident. Portland Fire & Rescue The 2-year-old boy was taken to a hospital for evaluation and is in good condition. KPTV
Neighbor Majiah Washington heard a noise she thought was a gunshot before seeing a flash of light.
“In my mind, I just think, ‘I have to have this baby.’ That’s the only thing he was thinking: ‘I have to have this baby,’” Washington told KGW.
Portland Fire and Rescue stressed the importance of not going near any downed wires as they could be live, and if anyone is ever caught in a situation inside their car with a wire on them, they should never get out of the vehicle.
“If it really is a live wire that’s going to cause problems, we can get the power company going, they can de-energize the lines,” Graves said. “As long as you’re in your vehicle and you have the rubber of your tires connected to the ground, you’re grounded, you’re safe.”
The tree branch fell while the northwest region of the country was in the midst of freezing winter storms. KPTV The vehicle was electrified, so when the occupants touched the ground and the vehicle, the electrical current passed through them. KPTV
The northwest corner of the country has been under a storm watch and warning after a powerful and deadly storm wreaked havoc over the weekend, with more freezing rain expected in the area Thursday night into Friday.
At least 10 people died over the weekend due to the harsh winter conditions that hit the region, including five reported hypothermia-related deaths, according to the outlet.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn