Detroit Teen Uses Wood to Knock Friend Off Live Wire

Boy brushed against wire from downed power line
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 18, 2013 4:16 PM CST
Detroit Teen Uses Wood to Knock Friend Off Live Wire
Stock photo   (Shutterstock)

A 13-year-old Detroit boy thought fast when his friend was nearly electrocuted this morning: He used a piece of wood to knock the 14-year-old off the live wire, and may have saved his friend's life—while remaining unharmed himself. The boys were walking home from school, which was closed today due to a power outage, when they came across the wires hanging across an empty lot. As they walked underneath them, the 14-year-old reached up as if to brush one out of the way and was shocked, a police officer tells the Detroit Free Press.

After his friend knocked him away, the teen was taken to the hospital with a faint pulse and is in critical condition. The 13-year-old "grabbed a 2-by-4 and knocked the boy off the wire, and potentially saved the boy’s life," the officer says. "He's a hero today." The Detroit News describes the incident somewhat differently, reporting that the 14-year-old picked up the wire to pass underneath it, not realizing it was live, and his friends used the wood to pry it out of his grip as he was being shocked. Detroit saw a violent storm last night that downed several power lines. (More electrocution stories.)

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