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The deaths appear linked to the severe winter storms and
subfreezing temperatures that have pounded the U.S. Northwest in
recent days.
A fallen tree branch brought the power line onto the top of an
SUV, said Rick Graves, a spokesperson for Portland Fire and
Rescue who was at the scene. The bodies of two adults and a
teenager were found about 25 feet (8 meters) from the car,
Graves said.
Callers told dispatchers of at least one person and maybe the
car on fire, victims lying prostrate, and a loose baby, Graves
said.
"It was a very heightened emotional scene, hysteria being
reported to the dispatchers from the callers," Graves said.
The victims remained unidentified. The two adults and the
teenager were pronounced dead at the scene and the baby,
apparently unharmed, was treated by paramedics and taken to
hospital, Graves said, estimating the baby's age at 1 to 2
years.
The medical examiner had yet to determine an official cause of
death but all indications pointed to electrocution, Graves said.
"Our safety messaging is that if a line comes down across your
vehicle, stay in your vehicle ... Once you drop your feet onto
the ground, you become part of that electrical current. And you
could have some grave results. And that's what we think happened
here," Graves said.
KGW television reported that a neighbor plucked the baby from
the arms of one of the bodies before paramedics arrived.
"In my mind I'm just thinking, I have to get this baby.' That's
the only thing I was thinking. I have to get this baby,'" said
the neighbor, who asked to remain unidentified, KGW reported.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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