LIBERTY COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) — A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed after the Liberty County High School head baseball coach and his wife were electrocuted while working at the baseball field to repair damages from Hurricane Michael.
Liberty County High School head baseball coach Corey Crum, 39, and his wife Shana Crum, 41, were killed after the boom lift Coach Crum was in made contact with overhead power lines, causing him to get electrocuted. The coach’s wife then attempted to help him and was also electrocuted.
Their 14-year-old son also attempted to help the two. He was electrocuted as well and injured.
The lawsuit was filed by the Crums' surviving daughter against Florida Public Utilities Company, who provided power to the field. The suit claims that FPU improperly installed power lines, left power lines energized that shouldn't have been and ultimately, was responsible for the deaths of the Crums.
“This is a blatant violation of the National Electrical Safety Code," said attorney Hal Lewis, who is representing the Crums' family. "I've talked to a half dozen experts in the field of electric power distribution, and none of them have ever seen anything like this where the hot/live wire was the bottom wire and the safe/ground wire was the higher wire.”
According to the suit, Coach Crum's boom truck touched a wire that should've been completely de-energized or a cold-grounded neutral wire. Lawyers also maintain that Crum was knowledgeable in operating heavy machinery near electrical transmission.
“Mr. Crum worked in construction and used to operate cranes for Jackson-Cook, so he knew all about power lines," said attorney Hal Lewis. "He had good reasons to believe that those abandoned lines were dead and de-energized, otherwise he wouldn't have been using the forklift under them in the first place.”
The lawsuit says Coach Crum wasn't shocked until he tried to get back into the boom truck, sending 7,200 volts of electricity running through his body. Upon seeing her husband was being electrocuted and unable to help himself, Shana Crum ran to the forklift, but was unfortunately electrocuted as well. Though their 14-year-old son was stopped before he could reach the forklift, the lawsuit says he too suffered electrical burns to his body.
"Tragically, because it took approximately 45 minutes for [Florida Public Utilities Company] to arrive on scene and de-energize the line, everyone who was present, including their own son [omitted], could only stand by and watch helplessly as Corey Crum and Shana Crum died and as their bodies eventually both caught on fire from the continuous electrical current," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit asserts that Florida Public Utilities Company's negligence caused the Crums' wrongful deaths and the injuries to their 14-year-old son. The complaint asks for compensation from Florida Public Utilities Company for the damages suffered by the Crums' three surviving children.
We have reached out to the Florida Public Utilities for comment. We're still waiting for a reply.
You can view a copy of the filed complaint here.
