NY State Trooper, civilian electrocuted while fixing flat tire near Canadian border

New York state trooper, civilian electrocuted while fixing flat tire near US-Canadian border
By Associated Press
1:30 PM EDT, August 4, 2008
OGDENSBURG, N.Y. (AP) _ A veteran state trooper and a civilian were electrocuted while fixing a flat tire on an antique fire truck when the truck's ladder touched a high-voltage power line, police said.

The fire truck, from the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation, was being returned to Canada from a parade near Syracuse when a tire went flat near the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge, said Ogdensburg Police Chief Richard Polniak.

State Trooper Shawn Snow was under the truck fixing the tire while Pierre Surprenant, 51, of Lachenaie, Quebec, extended the truck's ladder to distribute the weight away from the flat right rear tire. When the ladder hit the live wire, both men were killed instantly, police said.

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