The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1907-08-29
Death of Peter Farine, Who
Fell From Roof Upon a
High Voltage Wire.
EITHER SLIPPED OR RECEIVED
SHOCK AND IN ROLLING OFF
THE ROOF FELL ON LIVE WIRE,
RECEIVING A SHOCK WHICH
QUICKLY PROVED FATAL.

Peter Farine, 19-year-old line
mans helper, was killed by contact
with a 23O0-volt electric light wire
yesterday morning a few minutes be-
fore the current would have been shut
off Indeed, with the deepening Of IN
consciousness into death, his unseeins
eyes opened, as dying mems eyes do,
just as the day fairly dawned, "a few
minutes after the initial stage OF the
terrible tragedy. He died under the
oak tree IN front of the Perry mansion,
and his body waS carried thence into
the cottage ON the roof Of which he
had been attending wires as the
building was being very slowly moved
across the North Hill car track wher
it crosses Wright street.
Details of Tragedy.
Whether young Farine was shocked
while on the roof is not known. The
one person known TO have seen the
| tragedy throughout-though a dozen
saw parts of it-sayS that young
FaTine after others had done the
same thing, crawled along the ridge OF
the roof on his hands and feet, sud
denly rose and fall backward LAS
he did so,' says this witness, ''he
uttered cry as if OF fright. expect
ed to see him roll down the roof, but
he did not How many seconds he
lay still. l assume on his back, cam
not say, but it was long enough for
me to think, as we'll as men can think
at such times, that he had caught him.
self securely Day was just dawning,
and 1 could see him but imperfectly.
About the time 1 concluded he was
|
scramble to his hands and feet, he
slid down. the north side OF the roof,
uttering a cry of terror; went over
the roof and fell on the electric light,
which had been lowered to get it out
| of the way of the cottage.
The Manner of Death.
~'I saw the rest of the tragedy, and
recall vividly certain of the details.
He uttered no sound after he left the
. roof 1 saw the Lights caused by the
contact of the live wire with his body
ON the ground, but there was not
enough light for me to see him at all
distinctly. 1 am convinced, therefore,
that the arc light went out when he
struck it, and that he broke one OF the
current wires from the lamp and
carried the end TO the ground with
| him"
! This, supposition of the witness
quoted is shared by the electric light
company authorities, and by the fellow
linemen who cut the live wire and
gave young Farine first attention.
Only so, they assert, could the Wire
have given him a shock SO quickly
fatal, and the fact that others had,
while On the roof, handled all the
yr-iY-c i11cr no
were in the same position as at the
! time of Far4ne's death, precludes in
their opinion the possibility of the
youth HAVING been shocked while on
the roof. The longer of the two feed
wires to the light swung about at the
height of a mans head, and the fact
that it gave Contractor Topper only a
light shock when he struck il acct
dentaIly during the night, strengthens
the belief that ct was the breaking OF
this wire under Farine'S fall that, in
breaking his fall also caused his
| death-perhaps more Painlessly than
If his fall had been Unbrodlen and
SOME agonizing INJURY resulted. The
undertaken found no evidence of any
injury caused by the fall itself.
| The Death Scene.
| After the wire WAS cut and the
Young man pulled away, he began
breathing, and his comrades did every
thing they could by artificial means to
restore respiration and consciousness.
| But the dying boy gave no sign of
| recognition, or even of pain. In
few minutes, his breath grew almost
| imperceptible. his eyes opened, Slight
| ly, but a minute later there was no
pulse, no heart sound perceptible, anu
deaths first flush of surface warmth
was soon succeeded by the GOODNESS
of death, even before a doctor could
be bad
| Half frenzied with grief and horror
| the 1inemen received heavy Shbck
when they caught the youth TO pull
him away from the wire Then they
cut the wire and drew him aside He
was apparently dead, but in a few
minutes breathed and moaned. He's
alive! make him breathe!" shouted
one, who seemed especially fond of
the boy, and the sturdy men fell to
work TO restore respiration as if the
world depended on their efforts.
"A messenger went to the hotel to
ring up a, doctor, but before he arrived
the dying boy had apparently ceased
to breathe The false hopes raised
were accumulated when his eyes
opened a little, and the man who had
worked hardest called him tenderly
by name but another felt his pulse,
| and put his ear to the heart of the
! lad and his face showed his conviction
when he lifted his head
rs he dead?" asked the fellow
workman, and the other answered:
Il think So and the Hneman dropped
on his knees, and gathered the boys
| head, gently as a woman. into his
| muscular arms Pete Petei" he
cried, peer:ng into the unresponsive
eyes, and the stunning, nu1nbins eff
| feet of the tragedy seemed to pass
from those ON the scene, and more
than one brushed tears from his eyes
or swallowed the choking in his