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Man killed trying to shift wires

The electrocution, so far ruled accidental, occurred at a job site where he was helping a friend.

By SEUNG MIN KIM
Published August 4, 2005

WESLEY CHAPEL - A favor for a friend turned fatal Wednesday afternoon for a New Port Richey man, who was electrocuted while fiddling with 220-volt wires on a Wesley Chapel construction site, authorities said.

Two days after his 23rd birthday, Michael Walls was killed at the pale yellow Richland Street home in Wesley Chapel, authorities said. He was there to assist a friend, who was doing subcontract work for a tile company on the construction site, said sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin.

"According to a sergeant on the scene, this individual was helping out a friend on the job site," Tobin said. "He was not a paid laborer."

According to a preliminary report from deputies, Walls was trying to disconnect the 220-volt wires from a nearby well and connect them to a heavy-duty shop vacuum when the electrocution occurred about 1:40 p.m. Wednesday.

The subcontractors needed to complete tile work inside the home but didn't have an extension cord long enough, so Walls was rearranging the wires from the well to the vacuum, Tobin said. The incident is still under investigation.

Someone on the job site tried to perform CPR, but after authorities were called, Walls was taken to University Community Hospital in Tampa, where he was later pronounced dead.

For now, officials are calling the case accidental, Tobin said. No one else was injured on the site.

Deputies think Walls lived in New Port Richey, but were not positive, Tobin said. Attempts to reach Walls' family in New Port Richey on Wednesday were not successful.

Officials from Lexington Homes, the contractor for the home, in New Port Richey, did not return phone calls Wednesday. Workers onsite at the house Wednesday afternoon declined to comment and referred reporters to a sheriff's deputy, who was in the midst of investigating the scene.

Times staff writer Steve Thompson contributed to this report. Seung Min Kim can be reached at 813 909-4612 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4612. Her e-mail address is sminkim@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 4, 2005, 01:05:20]