16-year-old dies after falling from power pole in Fruit Heights

SALT LAKE CITY — A 16-year-old boy died on Monday night after falling about 60 feet from a Rocky Mountain Power pole in Fruit Heights. Stephanie Dinsmore with the Davis County Sheriff's Office said the boy fell at 9:19 p.m. near 1800 East and 696 South. "Deputies arrived and located the teen suffering from severe burns consistent with electrocution, as well as traumatic injuries from the fall," Dinsmore said. "He was transported by Farmington Fire to a local hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries." Dinsmore said a group of teenagers who were with the 16-year-old called 911 while waiting with the boy. 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. According to Dinsmore, the teenager was a Davis County resident and the fall appears to be an accident. Authorities said they would not release his name to the public out of respect for the privacy of his family. On Tuesday morning, mourners showed up to the site on the Fruit Heights bench to place flowers and remember the teenager who died. Tristen Hann and Max Moore said they attended school with the teen last year and described him as “extremely funny” and “creative.” “We brought up some flowers and some Monsters for him because he loved his Monsters,” Hann said. [gallery ids="843782,843780,843781,843799"] Moore added that the teens specifically brought up fall-colored flowers because of the 16-year-old’s love for the season. One mother told KSL TV her teen was part of the group that had gone to the area to check out the views of the valley, and the teen said the 16-year-old spontaneously decided to climb to the top of the power pole. According to the mom, her son told her the 16-year-old was seated at the top and commenting on the view when he got up, was shocked and fell. The death comes 18 years after another teenager, Scott Nye, died after climbing the same power pole on Oct. 12, 2007. Nye’s mother declined to be interviewed by KSL on Tuesday, but expressed her “love, understanding and concern.” A memorial placed at the bottom of the power pole explains what happened to Nye, in the words of his friends. KSL reached out to Rocky Mountain Power about the pole and incident, and it referred KSL back to the Davis County Sheriff’s Office for questions about the pending investigation.

Contributing: Don Brinkerhoff, KSL NewsRadio This story is breaking and may be updated as more information becomes available.

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