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(1982, Texas) At the Amarillo Fairgrounds, some buildings were in need of a
coat of paint, so local contractors were hired to do the job.
Between the buildings was an angled culvert, designed to drain rainwater
away from the buildings. Because of the slope, the wheeled painter
scaffolding tended to roll downhill, so the painters removed the wheels on
the scaffolding. They were in the process of moving the scaffolding, when
the metal structure met a transformer. The painters were killed.
The story made the headlines. The town was abuzz with talk of the tragedy,
how it had come to pass, and whether the city was liable for damages. The
city officials decided they needed to conduct an investigation.
With much fanfare, they arrived at the scene of the incident, prepared to
personally recreate the circumstances. Two officials grabbed the
scaffolding in the exact same location as the two painters, began to move
the scaffolding... and were promptly electrocuted.
Darwin asks, Can you confirm? I smell an
Urban Legend. Mark Harrington responds with THIS LINK showing an incident involving scaffolding in
1995. He says, "There is no secondary electrocution (of officials)" and
adds, "The entire archive of investigated electrical fatalities from 1982
to 2005 is here."
DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2008
Submitted by: Larry Vanover
Reference: Amarillo Daily News
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Sizzling Scaffolding
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