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WASHINGTON -- The man who was electrocuted early Wednesday morning at a Pepco substation building in Northwest was a graduate student at American University, sources told News4.
A witness thought a building had caught fire in the 1600 block of L Street NW at about 2:15 a.m. but soon realized that a person was actually engulfed in flames.
Fire crews arrived and put out the fire, but the man had already died.
The body was found near electrical transformers in an alley at the substation that was marked as a high-voltage area. Officials said the man may have come in contact with electricity, which caused the fire.
"He was subjected to, I think, approximately 19,000 volts," said Pepco spokeswoman Debbi Jarvis.
Officials said the man's body was burned beyond recognition.
Metropolitan police are trying to determine how and why the man, believed to be about 30 years old, got access to the substation.
"It's clearly marked," Jarvis said. "You can see the 'danger, high voltage' signs. It's fenced in. It definitely would take a lot of effort to penetrate that."
Police are talking to the man's friends to find out what might have happened
A witness thought a building had caught fire in the 1600 block of L Street NW at about 2:15 a.m. but soon realized that a person was actually engulfed in flames.
Fire crews arrived and put out the fire, but the man had already died.
The body was found near electrical transformers in an alley at the substation that was marked as a high-voltage area. Officials said the man may have come in contact with electricity, which caused the fire.
"He was subjected to, I think, approximately 19,000 volts," said Pepco spokeswoman Debbi Jarvis.
Officials said the man's body was burned beyond recognition.
Metropolitan police are trying to determine how and why the man, believed to be about 30 years old, got access to the substation.
"It's clearly marked," Jarvis said. "You can see the 'danger, high voltage' signs. It's fenced in. It definitely would take a lot of effort to penetrate that."
Police are talking to the man's friends to find out what might have happened
