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JAMES THORNERFederal and insurance inquiries are under way, but the Polk Sheriff's Office has closed its case in the death.
ZEPHYRHILLS - As he did most days at his job in the hen houses of Zephyr Egg Co., Santiago Gomez was pushing a metal cart through the rows of chickens.
But on Friday the walk proved fatal for the 18-year-old Mexican immigrant. Somehow - the egg company can't say for sure - the cart touched a live power cord. Santiago was electrocuted.
The egg plant sits near the border of Pasco and Polk counties, off U.S. 98 and County Road 54. Polk sheriff's detectives ruled the death accidental.
They said Gomez rammed his cart into a cord that powered a large exhaust fan in the hen house at about 8:30 a.m. and the impact probably sliced the cord's insulation.
A co-worker felt the shock but wasn't seriously injured. The surge of the current made Gomez's muscles contract so that he couldn't release his grip on the cart.
"Technically, the case is closed," said Carrie Rodgers, spokeswoman for the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
But from the perspective of Zephyr Egg, the case isn't closed.
Company executive Terry Linville, whose family owns the multimillion-dollar egg producer, left open the possibility that the cart, which is used to move chickens, didn't rip into the cord.
"That might have been one person's idea," Linville said of the Polk sheriff's explanation. "We don't know for sure."
It's possible the plug had been hanging from the socket, Linville said. Or maybe the recent hurricanes had damaged the electrical system.
Zephyr Egg is the state's third-biggest egg company. It has 150 employees and sells 35-million to 40-million dozen eggs a year.
Both the company's insurance carrier and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration have opened investigations into Gomez's death. Reports aren't available yet.
Attempts to reach Gomez's family in Dade City were unsuccessful. Friends said the family is from Mexico and speaks little English.
Hodges Family Funeral Home in Dade City is handling arrangements.