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Mayor’s employee electrocuted
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Posted on Apr 15 2008
An employee of the Saipan Mayor’s Office died after being electrocuted yesterday morning when a boom truck he was operating touched a high voltage primary line behind the Santa Soledad Church in Kagman.
Jeffrey Nakatsukasa Maratita, 37, fell to the ground as the boom truck caught fire. He was pronounced dead by a doctor at the Commonwealth Health Center at 11:03am.
Police did not release information to the media about Maratita’s injuries.
Detective Peter Aldan stated in his report that at 10:23am, the Department of Public Safety received a call of an injured person behind Santa Soledad Church. Medics were dispatched after police learned that a person had been electrocuted by a power line.
A responding police officer learned that prior to the incident, Maratita was helping Ramon Castro Sablan and Wayne Sablan Sanches relocate the mayor’s picnic tables from Santa Soledad Church to another site.
Maratita was operating the Mayor’s Office’s boom truck when it came into contact with a primary power line of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
Police said Maratita was electrocuted and a fire started at the boom truck.
When Maratita fell to the ground, Sablan and Sanchez managed to pull him away from the truck.
Sanchez ran to look for a telephone, while Sablan stayed with the victim.
Paramedics arrived and transported Maratita to CHC where a doctor later pronounced him dead.
[I]Saipan Tribune[/I] learned from CUC that the live primary line contained 7,970 volts.There were picnic tables at the church because of the fiesta celebration last Sunday.
