Jolt from PG&E control box seriously burns woman
- Steve Rubenstein, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
(10-04) 09:59 PDT SAN JOSE -- A San Jose woman was burned over 50 percent of her body early today when electricity surged through her after she apparently broke into a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. control box, authorities said.
The 41-year-old woman was being treated at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center for burns she suffered at 3 a.m. at Meridian and Foxworthy avenues in San Jose, police Sgt. Nick Muyo said.
The woman, who was not identified, was "apparently attempting to access the control box in order to remove copper wire,'' PG&E spokesman Jeff Smith said.
Smith said that PG&E copper wire is occasionally stolen and resold for its metal value.
The woman, accompanied by an unidentified companion, turned up a few minutes later at a nearby fire station, seeking medical help, Muyo said.
Police and PG&E said the incident did not appear to be similar to the underground transformer explosion in downtown San Francisco on Aug. 19 that critically injured a 40-year-old pedestrian and forced the utility to increase its transformer inspections.
"Whatever the circumstances, this is certainly a tragic incident," Smith said.
E-mail Steve Rubenstein at srubenstein@sfchronicle.com.
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/04/MNGDFF2CKP4.DTL
©2005 San Francisco Chronicle
Thank you for the article.
Hard to imagine a 41 year old woman could be that stupid.