Lincoln, Rhode Island – April 28 1968
On April 28, 1968, a group of skydivers took off in a small plane from North Central Airport in Smithfield, R. I. When the men jumped, one parachutist was carried by the wind and as he came down was entangled in some high voltage power lines running through a wooded area about 300 yards in from Samuel Stevens Drive in Lincoln. The power lines were the parachutists was entangled carried 115,000 volts of electricity, yet the man was not electrocuted.
Police and firefighters arrived and managed to safely rescue the skydiver, but they left the tangled parachute in place. About an hour later, friends of the man returned to the scene and one decided to retrieve the parachute against the advice of the others.
The 26-year-old man from Smithfield, climbed the adjacent tower and as he was tearing at the parachute there was a blinding flash and loud bang as electricity passed through his body and set it on fire. He dropped from the tower ablaze, and ignited a brush fire when he hit the ground.
The parachute harness was estimated to be worth about one-hundred dollars.
Source:
Woonsocket Call & Evening Reporter, “Sky Diver Electrocuted In Lincoln”, April 29, 1968.
