Ok, this is the last bad news I'm bringing. This is it! No more, dang it! Everything else from here on out will be good stuff. We had a tech die Sunday. I didn't know him well, but it still shakes me up because he was doing something small and simple that we do everyday. Please pray for his family. He had a baby on the way.
Phone technician electrocuted
SBC employee killed during service repair
January 19, 2004 — 8:39 a.m.
An SBC service technician was electrocuted Sunday while working on phone lines in west Redding.
William David McFadden, 32, of Rohnert Park, was attempting to repair a line in the back yard of a residence on Hallmark Drive just before noon, said officer Dave Schulz of the Redding Police Department.
The Shasta County coroner later ruled McFadden died of electrocution. Police said the victim apparently fell into nearby power lines.
Melanie Foote, a next-door neighbor, said she and her father were sitting in their front room when the power went out.
"Dad went out to see if he could get him down and I called 911," she said.
About 10 minutes before the accident, a home alarm went off at the unoccupied house with the telephone problems, Foote said. McFadden asked the Footes for help in disarming the alarm, she said.
Neighbor Cathy Makinson was standing just inside her garage when the electrocution happened.
"I heard a noise. I couldn't figure out what it was," Makinson said. "There was a pop and a bang."
All the power in the area had to be shut down and lines grounded before McFadden's body could be removed from the lines, police said.
An SBC worker, Matthew Sinclair, of Palo Cedro arrived after the accident. He was visibly shaken and surprised, noting that technicians are well trained.
"You hear it happens," Sinclair said. "But in 25 years, I've never seen anything like this."
An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday, said Deputy Coroner Wayne Booker. Cal-OSHA also will investigate the accident.
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