FRUIT HEIGHTS, Utah — A 16-year-old boy died Monday night following a fall from a power pole in Fruit Heights, the same structure where another teen was killed nearly two decades ago.
According to the Davis County Sheriff's Office, the boy, whose name is not being released, fell 60 feet from the pole just after 9:15 p.m.
“[He] made every single moment that we had together, that was even dull, something memorable,” said Addy Day, a friend of the boy.
The sheriff's office was called to 1800 East and 696 South; when deputies arrived, they found the teen suffering from severe burns consistent with electrocution, as well as traumatic injuries from the fall. He was transported to a local hospital, where he later died.
According to the sheriff's office, the boy was with friends at the time of the fall, and they were the ones who reported it to officials.
Day and her friend group came up to the spot often to enjoy the sunset views. It's what she and some of her friends were doing on Monday night.
“It’s crazy. I’m here. Standing here and seeing everything, hearing the story, knowing everything, hearing it from the people who were here, that I was also fairly close with. It just still doesn’t feel real," she said nearly 24 hours later.
The pole was the same one where 15-year-old Scott Nye died in 2007 after being electrocuted by high voltage before falling to his death. Similar to Monday's incident, Nye was also with friends when the incident occurred.
“This morning, I got the article, and it just brought up some really bad memories,” said neighbor Lorie Roundy. “They were up there on the same pole, and my son was up there with Scott, and when Scott stood up to get down, he got electrocuted, and my son got thrown off. He was about halfway up, and he fell all the way down. They tried to save him. It was just tragic. They were only 15, 16 years old.”
A plaque at the power pole memorializes Nye and his accidental death.
When reached by FOX 13 News on Tuesday, Nye's mother, Valerie, said the family did not want to comment on the latest accident out of respect to the teen's family.
"Our hearts go out to this boy’s family and to his friends that were with him," said Nye in a statement. "Please know of our love, understanding and concern. It truly was an accident, and it’s heartbreaking."
Although a sign reads "Keep Off" and warns of high voltage, Roundy and others in the community want more protective measures around the power pole.
“No one's fault, you know. It just happened. It’s a tragedy, but we need to do something to ensure that it doesn’t happen again," she said.
As the sun prepared to once again set over the city, Day shared how it’s their friend that they’ll be looking for.
“It’s almost ironic that the person who passed here, who the plaque was for, was nicknamed 'Sunshine' because that was also [the latest victim's] nickname as well," she said. "His football coach called him Sunshine. So that’s kind of crazy that it’s the same thing."
