On 12 May 2006 07:06:00 -0700, "RicodJour"
wrote:

mm wrote:
It took until Wednesday for someone to say how the girl was killed
last Friday in Baltimore.

It seems that the fence she was touching went in AFTER the power line
beneath it. The power line went to a light pole maybe 50 feet away
used to illuminate the softball field.

The fence was not the backstop, iiuc, but a 3 1/2 foot tall chain link
fence near the backstop. There was a cement footing for the pole, but
the pole extended about a quarter inch below the cement, and rested on
the cable. Eventually, it wore through the insulation and touched the
hot wire.

For a 3.5' tall fence post, the post hole was probably dug about 1.5' -
2' deep. Not that deep at all. Considering the bottom of the post
miraculously stopped just at the cable, it's very possible that the guy
digging it, knew he hit the cable, was thankful he didn't die, and
figured that the concrete would cover the top of the cable and prevent
the post from touching the cable itself. Of course the cable being the
limiting factor in the hole depth would mean that the post would not be
set at the same height as the rest - assuming the guy was relatively
careful about setting his posts. I'd check the top of all of the
poles to see if that particular pole was noticeably higher than the
rest, or to see if it had been cut (a cut in the field would look
different than a factory cut post end).

I was right across from the park last Sunday morning after this
happened (the previous Friday afternoon), and I did go looking for it.
I found two softball fields, but not the one in the pictures. Either
some of the park is only accessible on foot or I missed a road. It's
a very big park.

I guess they dug up the fence or they dug beside it to figure it out,
and by now they've probably taken the fence down. I think it was only
10 feet long or so.

I was invited to the same thing tomorrow morning, but I'm not going,
and I don't think I'll be able to find out any more details.

R