Legacy Matters

Welded to the Christmas tree

A sad, much too soon, death in Palo Alto

Man electrocuted while decorating tree with lights.

In effort to add holiday cheer to an East Palo Alto neighborhood ended in a gruesome tragedy Saturday when a man stringing lights in a tree at an apartment complex struck a high voltage power line, sending 12,000 kilovolts of electricity through his body and killing him instantly, fire officials said.

Hundreds of neighbors looked on for more than an hour at a grisly scene as the body of the 23-year-old man was suspended about 60 feet above ground because the electricity that had passed through him had affixed him to the tree, according to Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhouman.

"Electricity always tries to find a ground and it went through his arm and leg and essentially welded him to the tree," Schapelhouman said.

"Our heart goes out to this young man and his family; he was trying to improve things a little bit for Christmas and he made a small miscalculation and it cost him his life."

Condolences to his family.