Autopsy: Wash. man electrocuted by touching downed wire with hand, not through urine stream

Autopsy: Man electrocuted through wire, not urine

MONTESANO, Wash. — Autopsy results show a Washington man was electrocuted by touching a downed power line with his hand, not through his urine stream, as first suspected.

Grays Harbor County Chief Deputy Dave Pimentel (PIM’-en-tel) said the results showed 50-year-old Roy Messenger of Elma touched the wire and the current shot through his body to his feet.

Pimentel said Thursday that Messenger may have been urinating at the time, but it had nothing to do with his death.

Messenger’s car collided with a power pole Friday, knocking down the wire, and he called relatives to help pull his car from a ditch.

When relatives found him dead, it appeared he had urinated on the downed wire.