Johannesburg - It is not a tragedy - it is gross negligence by City Power. These were the words of Shane Tiley, whose son Lloyd was electrocuted in Sunninghill on Friday night when he accidentally touched an electricity pole while walking down a street with friends.
Lloyd, who would have turned 19 the following day, was killed instantly.
Tiley and Lloyd’s mother, Cheryl, were in tears on Tuesday morning, saying information surrounding his death was sketchy.
They said they were told that he and a group of friends had gone to a Valentine’s Day party in Rivonia Road and left to walk to a nearby petrol station.
It was then that he bumped into the utility pole, which had live wires hanging out of it, and was electrocuted.
A friend tried to resuscitate him, but it was too late.
“He must have died instantly. It was so unnecessary. Friends have gone to the area and they report that there are many more such poles with protruding wires.”
“Why is City Power not attending to this? His death could so easily have been avoided,” Tiley said.
Lloyd, who lived in Kempton Park, had enrolled at an international hotel school, said Tiley.
“We cannot believe the outpouring of love from his friends since this happened. We, as his parents, did not realise how many lives he touched.”
“He was 6.5ft tall - everyone called him a gentle giant and Big Foot. He was a soccer coach and a referee. In just a few weeks at his new school, he made hundreds of friends. We ourselves did not realise what a popular boy he was - it took his death to get us to know him better and to realise what a fantastic person he was,” said Lloyd’s parents.
Ward councillor Annette Deppe said there were many poles like the one that killed Lloyd in the Sunninghill area.
She said she had reported the incident to City Power the moment the death was reported to her.
“They only arrived on Saturday afternoon - the pole was left open all that time,” she said.
However, City Power spokeswoman Yumna Sheik said they immediately dispatched a team to secure the pole when they heard about the incident.
“We have real problems with vandalism. It appears the cover of the pole had been stolen for scrap metal; possibly the vandals tried to get copper out of the wires and left them hanging,” she said.
She has appealed to residents who see poles without covers to report this at 011 375 5555.
The Star