- A 16-year-old boy died after being electrocuted and falling from a power pole.
- The incident occurred in Fruit Heights on Monday night near 1800 East.
- This is the second fatality at the site; a similar incident happened in 2007.
FRUIT HEIGHTS — A 16-year-old boy has died after getting electrocuted and falling about 60 feet from a power pole.
Just after 9:15 p.m. Monday, Davis County's dispatch center received a report of a boy who had fallen from a Rocky Mountain Power pole near 1800 East and 696 South in Fruit Heights. Sheriff's deputies arrived and located a teenager with severe burns and traumatic injuries from falling, according to Stephanie Dinsmore, spokeswoman for the Davis County Sheriff's Office.
The boy, a student at Layton High School, was taken to a hospital but died from his injuries. Dinsmore said his identity will not be released.
A group of teenagers who were with the 16-year-old when he fell called 911 while waiting with the boy, Dinsmore said. When deputies arrived, they explained what had happened.
"It sounds like it was a group of individuals, a group of teenagers, who came out last night to take in the views, when one of the individuals climbed the tower," Dinsmore said, adding that the fall appears to be accidental.
She said Tuesday's death comes 18 years after Scott Nye, who was 15, died while climbing the same power pole on Oct. 12, 2007.
The boy's identity has yet to be revealed, but officials with the Davis School District confirmed that he was a student of Layton High School.
"It is with heavy hearts we inform you that one of our Layton High School students died in a tragic accident last night. We are deeply saddened by the death and express our condolences to the family and friends," a statement from principal, Brock Jackman, reads.
The school has established a crisis response team to support students and staff in coping with the loss.
"Please feel free to contact the school if you have any concerns about your student's response to this tragic event. A counselor will be available, and we will provide any additional help we can," a statement from the district reads.
Some teenagers, who said they were friends with the boy, were at the site Tuesday afternoon and brought items that they knew he liked to pay their respects.
"We brought up some flowers and some Monsters (energy drinks) for him, because he loved his Monsters," said Tristen Hann, a former classmate.
Dinsmore said Tuesday's death comes 18 years after Scott Nye, who was 15, died while climbing the same power pole on Oct. 12, 2007.
KSL reached out to Nye's mother for comment on the most recent incident; she declined an interview but did express her "love, understanding and concern."
Another parent who was near the site on Tuesday questioned why there weren't warning signs in the area or a fence. KSL.com asked Rocky Mountain Power, which referred KSL back to the Davis County Sheriff's Office, the investigating agency.
The company stated that it had to shut off power to the pole while authorities responded on Monday evening. About 4,000 homes were without power for a time during the investigation, according to Rocky Mountain Power.
