Friday, August 20, 1999
Man dies from apparent electrocution
Live wire likely shocked Wayne Township resident
BY SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
WAYNE TOWNSHIP — A 37-year-old man was killed early Thursday, apparently electrocuted by a live fallen wire after he went outside to investigate a small fire in his front yard.
Shortly after midnight, Ronald Hawk and his wife, Vicky, noticed what looked like a small fire in a ditch in front of their home in the 8300 block of Cedar Hill Road, according to the Warren County Sheriff's Office.
Mr. Hawk went outside to find the source of the fire. When he did not return, Mrs. Hawk went out after him.
She found him lying in a ditch with a high-tension wire across him, the sheriff's office said. She then called 911.
“If a wire is live, it's going to be arcing,” said sheriff's Capt. Gary Miller about how Mr. Hawk might have been shocked by the line. Mr. Hawk might not have seen it in the dark.
“When people see live wires they normally stay away from them, but I'm sure the nighttime contributed to some of this,” Capt. Miller said.
The incident was called an accident and is being investigated by the sheriff's office as a possible electrocution.
The Montgomery County Coroner's Office was conducting an autopsy and would not release information about Mr. Hawk. Warren County Coroner, Dr. Warren C. Young Jr., said late Thursday he had not yet received a report from Montgomery County. But he said he suspects electrocution because of the closeness of the downed power line to Mr. Hawk and the electrical burns on his body.
Neighbors contacted Thursday said they did not know the Hawks well. But they were familiar with power problems the night before in this rural stretch off U.S. 42, where fields and woods separate homes.
Sharon Vogel and her family live down the road in the 8600 block of Cedar Hill Road. They went to bed early Wednesday night after the electricity went out at 9:30 p.m. Her husband, Michael Vogel, thought he saw a transformer blow up in the distance. The electricity came back on at 12:30 a.m. Thursday, Mrs. Vogel said, around the same time Mr. Hawk was found dead next to the live wire.
The electricity went out again at 3 a.m., said Kathy Harm, who lives in the 8200 block of Cedar Hill Road. Her window fans shut off at that time. But the power came back on 30 minutes later.
Though Ms. Harm has lived there for three years, she said the landscape has kept neighbors isolated and prevented her from knowing the Hawks.
Dayton Power & Light, which serves the area, is investigating both the power outage and the downed wire, said Neil Costello, managing director.
He could not confirm the times of the outage, nor the scope of area affected by the power loss or a transformer fire.
“At this point, all I can tell you is Mr. Hawk unfortunately came into contact with an electrical line,” Mr. Costello said. “Beyond that we are investigating the cause and cooperating with local authorities, and our sympathies are with Mr. Hawk's family.”
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