Would-be copper wire thief gets lethal shock: coroner

KELOWNA – Burns from electrocution killed a Kelowna man last year as he tried to steal copper wire near a power pole north of Luxmore Drive.

Steven Ray Brodie Shepel, 35, was found lying on the ground by emergency services in the early morning of April 26, 2012 . Shepel was conscious and in pain.

An investigation revealed Shepel had been electrocuted while attempting to remove uninsulated copper wire which ran from the top of the power pole to the ground. It appeared the grounded end of the wire had been dug up and pulled away from the pole. This caused the fasteners to break free and the copper wire struck the 138,000 volt power line.

Shepel was taken to Kelowna General Hospital where he was first treated for electrical burns. He was then taken to Vancouver General Hospital where he died, despite treatment, on April 30, 2012.

Friends and family of Shepel started a Facebook memorial page sometime after his death. It is still receiving posts of condolences and positive messages.  It can be found here.

To contact a reporter for this story, to send photos or videos, email Shannon Quesnel at squesnel@infotelnews.ca, call 250-488-3065, tweet @shannonquesnel1 or @InfoNewsPentict