Two women were electrocuted and killed Wednesday after trying to help the victims of a car accident in Los Angeles, fire department officials said.
The women, who have not been identified, were apparently responding separately to the scene of a crash in Valley Village in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles., where a vehicle slammed into a fire hydrant and a light pole which knocked down a power line around 8:30 p.m.
The SUV came to a stop about 10 feet away from the fire hydrant, which burst, shooting water two stories into the air, witnesses said. The gushing water quickly pooled underneath the vehicle where the damaged light pole left electrical wires sticking out of the ground.
Fire department officials said the wires were disguised by the darkness, the running water and the growing number of startled neighbors and passing drivers who came running to help. Unbeknownst to the first people who tried to help the victim of the crash, an adult male, the water was electrified.
A woman who lived in a nearby home rushed out to the scene and stepped into the electrified water and was electrocuted. A husband and wife who were driving by also stopped and rushed to help. That woman was also electrocuted. Her husband suffered only minor injuries.
TXT 24
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