Updated at 7:57 p.m., Sunday, December 2, 2007
Downed power line caused fatal Wahiawa van fire
Advertiser Staff
A downed energized electrical line caused Wednesday's fatal van fire on Aheahe Avenue at Wahiawa's Whitmore Village, according to Honolulu Fire Department investigators.Eugenio Fernandez, 66, who was seated in his van at the time died late Wednesday at Straub Clinic & Hospital of smoke inhalation and thermal burns/electrocution. Troy Pace, who tried to pull Fernandez out of his van according to witnesses, is hospitalized at Straub with undisclosed injuries.
Investigators determined the electrical line contacted the van and was the source of ignition for combustible materials that were in or part of the van, HFD spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig said in a news release.
